Friday qualifiers showcased several returning stars on a chilly morning at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Sevruga made his second appearance for the Andy / Julie Miller barn and continued his return to form with a 1:54.2 win out of the pocket. He followed Detour Hanover’s even fractions around the track before edging out at head stretch and widening as he pleased.
Heston Blue Chip made his seasonal bow, plodding along through slow fractions for driver Tim Tetrick before a :27.1 sprint through the final quarter in a 1:55 mile, pretty much all in to hang on over a hard-charging Escape The News.
Ron Burke sent own a bunch of good older horses Friday morning and they pretty much took over for the second half of the qualifying card.
Foiled Again was sent to the front by pilot Yannick Gingras in his second go-‘round and tacked a :26.3 closing quarter in the 1:51.1 mile. He was several lengths clear of the competition in a visually impressive workout. Doctor Butch was second in a solid effort.
Top pacing mares came next, and the tantalizing Burke triumvirate of Camille (driven by Matt Kakaley), Rocklamation (Gingras) and Charisma Hanover (Andy Miller) came together on the wire in 1:51.4, with Rocklamation and Charisma Hanover closing from a ways back into the :26.3 last quarter.
Sweet Lou looked the best of the lot today. He sat an early pocket through the :57.2 opening half for Gingras and then ripped out of the pocket en route to a 1:51.1 victory.
Results and replays are available by clicking here.
A good card of live pari-mutuel racing at the Meadowlands will kick off Friday night at 7:15 p.m.
(Meadowlands)