Itrustyou kept his win streak rolling for the Ron Burke brigade scoring the fastest victory of the night in his second leg division of the Exit 16W Series Friday night at the Meadowlands Racetrack
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The series, which is for four-year-old male pacers that are non-winners of three extended pari-mutuel races or $100,000 lifetime as of Dec. 10, 2011, featured three $18,000 divisions in the second round.
Burke trainee Itrustyou, driven by Yannick Gingras, rallied home from second over to win the final split in 1:50.3 and push his streak to 12.
Avenue Hanover and Fearless Diablo traded blows on the front end through opening fractions of :26.4 and :54.1 while Stonebridge Rocket moved underway from fourth with Itrustyou gapping his cover after sitting sixth early on. Stonebridge Rocket went head-to-head with the leading Fearless Diablo by three-quarters in 1:22, but Itrustyou found his grove catching up and angling three-wide at the top of the stretch before forging to command. The Third Straight gelding held off the late-closing Mickey Hanover for the half-length triumph while Fearless Diablo settled for third one and three-quarter lengths behind.
Itrustyou paid $3 to win as the heavy favourite. Now five-for-five on the year, the Valedictory and Complex Series champion has banked $73,000 in 2012 for Burke Racing Stable LLC.
Special T Rocks rebounded after seeing his own recent win streak end at six in the opening round of the Exit 16W Series when Itrustyou edged him out by half a length. The Clyde Hirt Series champion swept from third to first at the quarter pole and held off pocket-sitter Risk Management, another Burke starter, to win in a career-best 1:50.4 by half a length. He paid $3.40 to win as the heavy favourite. Trainer-driver Daryl Bier shares ownership of the Rocknroll Hanover gelding with Forrest Bartlett and Joann Dombeck.
The other division went to the front-stepping Real Flight and Tim Tetrick, a four-time winner on the card, in a life's best clocking of 1:50.4. P.J. Fraley trains the Real Desire gelding for owner Jeffrey Bamond. He paid $23 to win.
The second leg of the Cape & Cutter Series for aged pacing mares also continued on Friday night with another win streak expanding.
Bier's Higher And Higher journeyed first over from fifth to wear down pacesetter Oceans Motion. The five-year-old Western Terror mare won by one length over Rock N Soul and Symphony In Motion in 1:53.1, notching her fourth victory of the season in as many starts. The favourite paid $4.60 to win. Bier owns the $839,000-plus career earner with Glenn Del Russo and Charles Dombeck.
Mud Pie Hanover and Dan Dube pulled off a 59-1 stunner in the other division. The duo sat third for most of the mile before sprinting home for the 1:51.4 triumph. Royal Cee Cee N finished three-quarters of a length behind in second while pocket-sitter Go On Bb rounded out the top three finishers. Jason Robinson trains the six-year-old Allamerican Native mare for owner Robert Main. She returned $121.60 to her backers.
The Gingras-Burke team tripled up on Friday night with one of their other victories coming in the $30,000 Invitational Trot thanks to the season-debuting Hava Kadabra. The five-year-old Kadabra gelding held on to win a head in 1:54.3 over late closers Take My Picture and Cameron Chip. The $200,000-plus winner was purchased in September last year by Gingras, Burke Racing Stable LLC, and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. The winner paid $6.60.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Meadowlands Racetrack.