Dont Deny Me extended her win streak to four-in-a-row on Thursday evening at the Meadowlands
thanks to her gritty performance in the $71,400 final of the Jersey Girls.
The four-year-old daughter of Allamerican Ingot, who captured her preliminary legs of the series in clockings of 1:52 and 1:52.2, survived a first-over trip to stop the teletimer in 1:50.3 for the duo of trainer Ken Rucker and driver David Miller.
Miller got away fourth with Dont Deny Me while Yannick Gingras put Natalie on the early lead. Natalie was unchallenged through panels of :274 and :55.4, but Dont Deny Me put first-over heat on the leader as the field headed towards the final turn.
Dont Deny Me and Natalie were side-by-side at the three-quarter pole in 1:22.4, but they didn’t stay that way for very long. Natalie weakened and dropped back while Dont Deny Me summoned up a :27.4 final frame to fend off a pair of late challengers in a career-best clocking of 1:50.3.
Autumn Magic, who was a 1:52 winner in the second leg of the series, rallied to grab the runner-up award. Miss Scarlett rounded out the top three.
“She loves chasing after horses, and tonight she raced great,” said driver David Miller. “She was out a long time uncovered and still kept coming. It was a gutsy performance; she’s pretty tough.”
“She raced good for us all of last year, and she’s overachieved all her life,” said Ken Rucker. “She isn’t paid into anything else, so we’ll have to race her in overnights the rest of the way. She doesn’t owe us anything, though.”
Don’t Deny Me, who is owned by Rucker Stable Inc. of Beecher, IL, has put together four wins in her first five starts of the season. The lion’s share of the Jersey Girls purse bumped her lifetime earnings to $190,119.
To view Thursday’s results, click here.