After last weekend saw him win six races and finish second on nine occasions in just 34 starts, Yannick Gingras upgraded from superb to scintillating at the Meadowlands Thursday night, winning five times on the 11-race program.
Gingras, whose horses have earned over $13 million during 2019, now has 32 wins at the Big M Fall Meeting, trailing only Dexter Dunn, who has 41. Dunn did not race at the Meadowlands Thursday.
Gingras got things going in the third race, scoring with the Nick Surick-trained Sew Psyched in a fillies and mares $7,500 claiming pace. The 4-5 favourite hit the wire in 1:56 on the way to winning for the seventh time in 32 seasonal starts.
Gingras would then go from bake to broil, winning four in a row beginning in Race 6.
Cracklin Rosie scored in a fillies and mares conditioned pace for trainer Juan Cano. The six-year-old mare completed the mile in 1:54 and won by 4-1/2 dominant lengths in wire-to-wire fashion after being sent to the gate as the 3-5 public choice.
Next, Gingras guided two-year-old gelding Island Of The Sea to victory after traveling first-over for the final half-mile in a non-winners of two pace. The Eric Ell trainee, who was the 4-5 favourite, hit the wire in 1:52.1 while winning for the second time in three lifetime starts.
Gloria Pierre gave Gingras his fourth score of the night with a gigantic mile as the 3-2 public choice in a fillies and mares $10,000-$12,500 claiming handicap pace. The Yogi Sheridan trainee went parked to the quarter from post 10, finally getting the lead just after three-eighths before taking pressure and holding sway to the wire in 1:53.3 for her eighth win of the year in 39 tries.
“I didn’t think the trip was that hard,” said Gingras. “She won really easy two starts back. When I got to the front tonight, I thought the fractions were fair. She did not surprise me at all.”
The incredible Preppy Art completed the 40-year-old driver’s five-bagger, scoring as the 4-5 choice in 1:53.1 in a $10,000 claiming pace. Preppy Art, who won for the seventh time in his last eight starts, was claimed for a seventh consecutive start, this time by Nick Surick, who was Preppy Art’s trainer for his win on Dec. 5.
“I knew I had some live ones tonight,” said Gingras. “I thought I had some power going in. I had some big favourites, so I tried to take control of the races.”
Even on a big night, Gingras did some second-guessing after tasting defeat with 1-5 favourite JBs Shooting Star in the 10th race.
“It’s easy after the race,” said Gingras. “But I wish I had gotten closer to the front, (Andy McCarthy driving Woodmere Oleksiak) had position on me, and I had to outpace him home, instead of the other way around.”
(Meadowlands)