The showdown on paper pitted two undefeated three-year-olds in the second round of the Buddy Gilmour Series on Saturday night at The Meadowlands, but Wiggle It Jiggleit left no doubt on the racetrack, he is the real deal.
Sent off as the 1-9 favourite, Wiggle It Jiggleit waited for National Seelster to move to the lead past the opening quarter of :27.2. Once his rival cleared the front, Montrell Teague moved his undefeated gelding to the outside and took up the chase. He glided past National Seelster through a half-mile of :56.3 and never relinquished that lead. Allowed to float through the third quarter with National Seelster in the pocket, Wiggle It Jiggleit hit three-quarters in 1:25.2 and that is when his pilot asked him for speed and the response was instantaneous. The son of Mr Wiggles powered away from National Seelster through the stretch, pacing a :26.4 final quarter and winning geared down in 1:52.1. Fast Movin Train rallied to be second over National Seelster.
Wiggle It Jiggleit, who has been nominated to this year's Pepsi North America Cup, is trained by Clyde Francis for George Teague Inc.
The second division of the Gilmour was a much more wide-open betting affair on paper, with a highly competitive seven-horse field on the gate.
Rodeo Romeo was sent off as the 3-2 favourite with John Campbell and that colt cleared the lead before the opening quarter of :28.3. He would relinquish that lead though to Midnight Lightning, who brushed down the backstretch and took over command nearing the half-mile of :57.3. Affluenza and Brett Miller committed first over and led the outer flow as the field circled past three-quarters in 1:26.4 with Coaster right on his back. In the stretch, it looked like anyone’s race with Midnight Lightning digging in, Affluenza bearing down, Rodeo Romeo looking for room and Coaster rallying off cover. Those four lined up at the eighth pole before Coaster and Rodeo Romeo separated themselves from the field, with Coaster narrowly getting up in the shadow of the wire for Yannick Gingras, his fourth win of the night. Rodeo Romeo was second with Midnight Lighting third.
Coaster is trained by Ron Burke, who won two races on the card, and is owned by Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi and Phil Collura.
They say a horse doesn’t know his odds, and clearly Bullet Bob wasn’t aware that Lonewolf Currier was 1-5 or that he had been defeated by that same foe the previous week by more than seven lengths. On this night, Bullet Bob turned the tables on the favourite in the $25,000 Dash For The “G” Notes Final, winning in 1:51.4.
Bullet Bob was sent hard off the gate by Dave Miller and crossed over to the pylons before the first turn with New Kind pressing him early. New Kind cleared the lead before the quarter in :27.3, but Lonewolf Currier was lurking and Corey Callahan made his move for the lead with five-eighths of a mile to go. He established fractions of :56.1 and 1:23.4 before setting sail for home, but Bullet Bob came to call and wore down the favourite through the stretch for the upset score. New Kind was a game third.
The winner is owned by Fox Hollow Farm and trained by Mark Harder.
Both $.20 cent Jackpot Super Hi-5 wagers carried over, with the fifth race carryover reaching $47,522 and the last race carryover growing to $161,277.
Racing returns to The Meadowlands on Friday night, featuring the first round of The Shiaway St Pat for trotters contested in $20,000 divisions with post time at 7:15 p.m.
The draw schedule will change beginning next week, as the entry box for Friday will close Monday at 9:00 a.m. and Saturday’s entry box will close Tuesday at 9:00 a.m.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)