Driver Pat Berry let the race come to him, and his patience and decision-making led to San Domino A winning the Saturday night (Dec. 21) feature at the Meadowlands, the Preferred for pacers.
Berry, who last week at the Meadowlands won his 4,000th race, had San Domino A racing in sixth to the quarter as the speedy Wheels On Fire was cutting out tepid fractions of :28.1 and :56.4. But Wheels On Fire—the 5-1 second choice—was not at his best, bearing away from the rail at the half while causing a bit of a traffic jam on the way to a fourth-place finish.
Things did not go swimmingly for 4-5 favourite Franco Totem N, either. He never saw the rail, racing first over to the stretch before weakening and finishing seventh in the field of nine.
San Domino A, who scored at the Big M on Nov. 30 before a Yonkers win Dec. 14, was in a live flow racing third over, and when second-over Endeavor went around a tiring Franco Totem N, San Domino A moved with that one, racing second over in a three-wide flow around the far turn.
The Andrew Harris trainee then powered by Endeavor in mid-stretch on the way to a three-quarter-length win in 1:51.3 to record a third-straight score. Endeavor held second, with Lyons Steel rallying for third.
A six-year-old gelded son of Somebeachsomewhere-Reggae Miss, San Domino A paid $16.80 as the fourth choice in the wagering. He’s won eight-of-22 starts this year, and lifetime, has 20 wins from 64 attempts and earnings of $209,588 for owners Joe P Racing and Oldford Racing.
A LITTLE MORE: For the second-consecutive Saturday, there was only one winning ticket sold in the 50-cent Pick 5. The combination of 6-10-2-5-2 returned $29,478.
Favourites took it on the chin, winning only twice on the card.
Leading driver Dexter Dunn had four winners on the card, upping his Fall Meet total to 47. Yannick Gingras guided 10 to victory lane over the course of the three-day race week and now has 42 wins.
All-source handle totaled $2,416,400 on the 14-race card.
Racing resumes Thursday at 7:15 p.m. The Big M will be closed for simulcasting on Dec. 22, 24, 25 and 29. The FanDuel Sportsbook will be open on Dec. 24 from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. and closed on Dec. 25.
(Meadowlands Racetrack)