In what has quickly turned into harness racing's most contentious rivalry, Lucky Jim and Enough Talk will battle in the $125,000 Su Mac Lad Final Friday night at Meadowlands Racetrack
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The 2008 and 2009 divisional champions headline a sharp field of free for all trotters in the race five feature. Enough Talk and driver Ron Pierce received the slight 7-5 nod as the morning line favourite from the rail, while Lucky Jim and Andy Miller look to avenge last week's loss as the 8-5 second choice from post seven. The Su Mac Lad Final shares the spotlight with the $54,000 Art Unger and $65,800 Jersey Girls finals.
It was a slugfest down to the wire in the first round of the Su Mac Lad, with Lucky Jim prevailing over Enough Talk in their first meeting of the year. Lucky Jim marched to the lead around the first turn, leaving Enough Talk parked out and racing into second as they hit the opening quarter in :28.1. Lucky Jim released the pocket to Enough Talk, but quickly reclaimed the lead before the half in :56 flat and maintained a length and a half advantage as they rounded the final turn. Enough Talk angled out of the pocket at the head of the lane and they battled to the wire, with Lucky Jim holding on by a head in 1:52.1.
"Ronnie didn't seem like he wanted to trot a whole lot, so I made a controlled move back to the front and thought I'd see how the race goes from there," said Andy Miller of the first Su Mac Lad battle. "Lucky Jim relaxes himself so he took himself up a bit on the turn and just relaxed and braced himself for the stretch drive. We were trotting pretty good and I knew that after seeing Ronnie's horse the week before that he would be coming at me and I was just curious as to how my horse would respond. Last year, it was not that often that a horse got that close to him so I didn't know how he would react to it. Jim's a good horse and he puts out a big effort. He loves to win."
Enough Talk turned the tables on Lucky Jim with a well-rated victory in round two of the Su Mac Lad Series. Starting from the rail, Enough Talk coasted through fractions of 28.3, 57.4 and 1:26 before sprinting home in :26.4, toward a final 1:52.4 clocking. Lucky Jim, who drew the outside post, sat a garden trip behind Enough Talk but was unable to vacate the pylons until late in the mile. He made a final surge but fell a neck short at the wire, ending his Meadowlands winning streak at 16 races.
"That's the way I envisioned the race [dropping into the two-hole], " Miller said. "I would have liked to win the race. Obviously it didn't turn out that way, but it wasn't for lack of effort on Lucky Jim's part. He shifted gears [in the stretch] and was really digging. He puts out 100 percent every time and I commend him for that because he does try to get there."
The trotters' post positions are the same in the Su Mac Lad Final, with Enough Talk firing from the rail and Lucky Jim launching from post seven.
"I'll just go into it with an open mind and hopefully we get into the race and get a clear shot," Miller said.
Meadowlands Racetrack announcer Ken Warkentin caught up with Enough Talk's trainer, Peter Kleinhans, in the paddock Thursday morning to talk about the Clash of the Trotting Titans and more.
Click here for Friday night's entries.
(Meadowlands)