In what was a frantic finish to a fabulous Friday night feature at The Meadowlands, Get Legs went another powerhouse mile in scoring from off the pace, upping his lifetime stats to six wins in seven lifetime starts at The Big M.
In what was a frantic finish to a fabulous Friday night feature at The Meadowlands, Get Legs went another powerhouse mile in scoring from off the pace in the $19,000 marquee dash for non-winners of nine races lifetime on the trot, upping his lifetime stats to six wins in seven starts, all taking place at The Big M.
“You can’t map out the trip,” said winning trainer Julie Miller. “But you hope it works out in the end. We were very fortunate.”
Maybe so, but Get Legs was also very good.
Get Legs was away quickly from post seven, as was 7-5 favourite Some Chapter from post eight in the eight-horse field. The problem was, virtually all the horses to their inside also left the gate, leaving Get Legs and Some Chapter, who was seeking his fifth win in six starts, extremely wide around the first turn.
With the two favourites resigned to having to come from the back of the pack, HL Revadon had the lead at the quarter while parked out by Cool Clifford, but soon thereafter, Gotwuteverittakes made a bold move to the top only to be pressed by 29-10 third choice Swan In Motion.
The quick action down the backstretch assured a closer would get the money, and at three-quarters, Magical Winner K tipped off his cover and was first-up leading a three-wide flow as 27-10 second choice Get Legs followed that live tow with Some Chapter tracking from third-over as three-quarters was timed in 1:25.3.
Andy Miller steered Get Legs to the outside for the stretch drive, and after trotting a final quarter in :27.2, grabbed the victory by a half-length over Magical Winner K, who raced well beyond his 44-1 odds. Some Chapter was a valiant third.
“I just have so much confidence in my horse and driver,” said Julie, the better half of team ‘Orange Crush’. “My horse was supposed to race last week at Pocono but the card got canceled, so I was afraid we might be a little short. He rose to the occasion.”
Get Legs and driver Andy Miller hit the wire first in the Friday night feature at The Meadowlands.
Get Legs, a four-year-old son of Muscle Hill-Legzy, returned $7.40 to his backers after completing the mile in 1:53.4. He now has earnings of $46,610, and if all goes as hoped, there will be a lot more to come.
“We’ve staked him to the four-year-old races this year,” said Julie. “I would love to take on the big dogs, but he’s kind of behind the eight ball with his limited experience. I think my slow play game will benefit him. When we have to race the better horses, we hope to be prepared.”
The game plan is to be ready for the Graduate Series in May. “I’m not going to feed him to the wolves unless he’s ready. If we think he is, we’ll be there,” said Julie.
A LITTLE MORE: Julie and Andy have another potential good one on their hands. Earlier on the card, their Hipster K, another four-year-old trotter, made it three wins in as many lifetime starts in a non-winners of two. The son of Sebastian K - Rileys Dream became the first 1-9 winner of the meeting, returning $2.20 for a $2 wager after finishing his mile in 1:55.4....Despite four favorites winning during the sequence, the 20-cent Pick-6 returned $825.40 thanks to Waterway, who scored from off the pace with Corey Callahan driving in the 12th race at odds of 23-1....Andy McCarthy led the driver’s colony with three victories on the card....All-source wagering totaled $3,131,740, the second consecutive Friday where wagering exceeded the $3-million mark....Harness racing resumes Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
(Meadowlands)