Woah Black Betty had a win for trainer Ron Burke in the $14,085 New Jersey Standardbred Development Fund first leg for rookie pacing fillies, capping off a triple for the conditioner at The Meadowlands on Saturday, Nov. 8.
The Canadian-owned filly, shipping in from Woodbine Mohawk Park, floated away from post three and allowed Car Keys (Dexter Dunn) to lead the outside line entering the first turn before following that one to the front past the quarter in :29.1. Once on top, Woah Black Betty paced :58.2 and 1:27.1 middle fractions for Yannick Gingras before coming to blows with Car Keys, who popped the pocket on the final turn. They scrapped throughout the stretch drive, with Woah Black Betty holding off Car Keys by a neck to prevail in 1:54.1. Greenstreet (Andrew McCarthy) closed for third.
Woah Black Betty, who won two of her first four career starts at Mohawk, moved to the Burke barn and made her United States debut in Saturday's win, which boosted her earnings to $29,102. The daughter of Lazarus N-Come Get The Cash is a homebred for Princeton Farms of Princeton, Ont. and Glenn Bechtel of Stanhope, P.E.I. She paid $5 to win.
Burke also won on the 12-race card with First Class Rule ($5.60), who got up by a nose in the fourth race, and Steely Knife ($3.60), a 1-3/4-length winner in the sixth race. The triple put Burke into the lead in the trainers' standings this year at The Meadowlands. He is now two wins clear of Jeff Cullipher, 53-51.
Azrael Blue Chip took his third straight win in the $14,085 New Jersey Standardbred Development Fund first leg for two-year-old male pacers. Andrew McCarthy directed the son of Perfect Sting-Bathsheba to the point in a :27.3 quarter, then ordered a re-take after Everlast Sting Deo (Braxten Boyd) swooped past the colt on the backstretch. Azrael Blue Chip headed the field through the half in :56.1 and three-quarters in 1:24.4 without pressure and repelled inside attacker Mighty Matt (Jason Bartlett) in the stretch for a career-best 1:52 victory by a half-length. Everlast Sting Deo rounded out the top three.
Azrael Blue Chip is now four-for-six with $47,556 in the bank. Besim Odza trains the colt for CT Stables LLC of Washington Court House, Ohio. The win price was $6.80.
In the $31,690 overnight feature, Seven Colors continued his recent run of dominance over conditioned company with a strong front-end win.
Seven Colors was parked four-wide into the first turn in the six-horse field as Mad Max Hanover (Mark Herschberger), Southwind Gendry (Gingras), and Voukefalas (Jordan Stratton) all left underneath the eventual winner. Voukefalas took the field past the quarter in :27.1, but then Seven Colors, sent to the gate as the 7-5 second choice, made his way to the top just before the three-eighths and hit the half in a comfortable :55.4.
Off that easy second panel, Seven Colors was setting a moderate pace, which enabled Mad Max Hanover to come alongside and challenge the leader as three-quarters was reached in 1:23.4. Off a middle half that was timed in :56.3, Seven Colors had plenty left in the tank, shrugging off Mad Max Hanover when they straightened up for the drive to the wire and easily holding off the pocket-sitting 6-5 favourite Voukefalas to record a 1-1/4-length win in 1:50.2. Mad Max Hanover held third.
“He’s been racing well and got a pretty good lead [into the stretch]”, said winning driver Dexter Dunn. “But when you have a horse like Voukefalas on your back, you know you’re going to be in for a pretty good fight.”
“He’s got so much back class,” said trainer Andrew Harris. “And then you throw Dex on. It gets pretty easy to flex.”
Seven Colors started 2025 with no wins from his first nine starts — understandable when you're going up against the likes of Ervin Hanover, Ken Hanover and Sabonis. But lately, the Harris trainee has gotten his act together, winning four of his last five starts, with the four scores against solid overnight stock and the one defeat in the Breeders Crown. He took the first two conditioned victories at Harrah’s Philadelphia, with the most recent two coming at The Meadowlands.
“He’s just good right now,” said Harris. “He’s been back to himself. Unfortunately, he spent the summer battling health issues and missed most of his stakes schedule.”
Ever since going on his recent streak starting on Sept. 21, it’s clear that the five-year-old son of Stay Hungry-Rainbowinthedark has shrugged off his early-season blues.
Seven Colors now has 15 career victories in 57 tries, good for earnings of $1,259,960. He races for owners Bill Pollock, Bruce Areman, and Harris. He returned $4.80 to his backers.
(Standardbred Canada & The Meadowlands; photo of First Class Rule winning on Nov. 8)