Yannick Gingras says it will be a challenge for Time To Quit to win the Charles Singer Memorial Series at Meadowlands Racetrack, but for now the Big M’s leading driver is focused on Thursday’s second round.
Time To Quit, who is unbeaten in four starts this season, races in the second of two $15,000 second-leg divisions of the restricted series for three and four-year-old trotters. Trained by Ron Burke, the four-year-old gelding is joined by entry mate Winbak Sullivan at 4-5 on the morning line.
Perfect Alliance, a four-year-old female trotter racing out of the stable of trainer Julie Miller and undefeated in three starts this season, is the 3-5 morning line choice in the first division.
Last week, Time To Quit won his Singer division by a head over Clementine Dream in 1:56.2. Perfect Alliance, driven by Andy Miller, won her division by seven and three-quarter lengths over Ray Hall in 1:53.3. This week, both trotters will start from Post 8 in eight-horse fields.
The $52,500 Charles Singer Memorial Series final is March 8.
“I’m not sure he can go with Perfect Alliance,” said Gingras, who leads all Meadowlands drivers with 55 victories this year and a 27 per cent win rate. “Thankfully, she’s in the other division again. She’s done it three (starts) in a row. I think she’s the only horse that can win from the outside, the rest need an inside post and a trip.
“But there are some nice horses in there. Ray Hall is definitely a nice horse and Cajole Hanover and Clementine Dream have a chance, too. It’ll be interesting.”
Of course, Time To Quit first needs to get through this week. Mark Harder’s Clementine Dream is the 5-2 second choice in the second Singer division, starting from Post 2 with driver Scott Zeron, and Ross Croghan’s Cajole Hanover is 5-1 from Post 5 with driver David Miller.
Time To Quit, a son of stallion Chocolatier out of the mare Lovable Truth, won the $46,500 final of the Super Bowl Series by one and three-quarter lengths over Clementine Dream on Jan. 22, one week after besting Cajole Hanover by a nose in the second round.
“He’s been really good and he’ll be first-time lasix this week, so that should help, too,” Gingras said. “He can carry his speed pretty well. He’s been on the front a lot so far this year, but he doesn’t need to be there. He can do it any way; he’s a big, strong horse.”
In the first division of the Singer, Gingras drives Burke-trained You Rock My World. The horse starts from Post 1 and is joined by entry mate Cocotier, driven by Zeron, at 10-1 on the morning line.
You Rock My World, a four-year-old gelding, won one of 19 starts last season, but finished the year by hitting the board in three consecutive conditioned races. He won a conditioned race in 1:57 at the Meadowlands on Feb. 6, but finished seventh in his first round of the Singer after leading the field to the opening quarter in :27.1.
“It was too much early, a little more than he could handle,” Gingras said. “But he’s good to drive and good gaited.”
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.