Outside The Fire got a perfect pocket trip on the way to taking down Lexus Kody in the Friday, April 18 feature at The Meadowlands, a $34,722 Winners Over Handicap Trot.
The race shaped up as a great matchup between the two talented trotters: Outside The Fire, a winner of two of his last four for the Jeff Cullipher barn who was sent to the gate as the 3-5 favourite, taking on 2-1 second choice Lexus Kody, the ultra-talented speedball from Ron Burke, who is awfully good when flat, but has a nasty breaking habit, having gone off stride in half of his last six tries, with the other three resulting in walks down victory lane.
The race panned out predictably, with Outside The Fire and driver Johnathan Ahle leaving for position from post five in the seven-horse field. He actually had the top at the quarter in :27.4 before Lexus Kody, driven by 25-year-old Aussie James Herbertson -- who will be at The Big M for the next five weeks to get a taste of American racing -- took over and took the field past the half in :57.2 and three-quarters in 1:26.4. The track record holder for older geldings by virtue of a 1:49.4 clocking last Hambletonian Day, Lexus Kody would be tough to beat after a middle half in :59.
But Outside The Fire was up to the challenge, because for Lexus Kody, it wasn’t his breaking problem that cost him the win, but instead, it was facing a horse who was simply better on this night.
“He’s been in razor-sharp form,” said Ahle. “So, I just figured, let’s see where we land and come when we have to.”
That time was approaching three-quarters, when Ahle, driving Outside The Fire for the first time, vacated the pocket to go after the leader.
“I wouldn’t say I was nervous,” said Ahle. “But the slow half didn’t please me at all.”
Outside The Fire collared Lexus Kody with about a sixteenth of a mile to go and went on to win by one length in 1:53.1. On Higher Ground (Braxten Boyd) was third.
“The way mine felt around that last turn, he felt loaded with trot and I was confident,” concluded Ahle.
A six-year-old gelded son of Cantab Hall-Light The Flame, Outside The Fire upped his lifetime stats to 25 wins from 84 starts, good for earnings of $424,948. He currently races for Pollack Racing and is three-for-nine on the season.
Outside The Fire paid $3.40 to win.
Veteran amateur driver David Glasser recorded his first career win racing against non-amateur pilots when he guided Urban Renewal ($12.20) to the winner’s circle in the second race.
A carryover of $5,569 led to a total pool of just over $22,000 in the 20-cent Pick Six, and after a sequence that had winners' odds of 9-5, 2-1, 7-2, 4-5, 5-1 and 3-1, winning tickets were exchanged for $2,181.64.
All-source handle totalled $2,272,242 USD on the 14-race card.
Racing resumes on Saturday at 6:20 p.m.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)