Colossal Stride A was wound up early in the Saturday night (April 3) feature at The Meadowlands, so his driver Dexter Dunn had to change the game plan.
Colossal Stride A, an Australian import who has been stateside for only a little more than two months, recorded his fourth win in six starts since shipping over from Down Under, taking the $27,500 high-end conditioned pace in a lifetime-best 1:50.
In a field that saw one scratch decrease the field size to five, Dunn was on board with trying to win from off the pace with the 3-5 favourite.
“I was planning on going to the back and chasing the horses home,” said the Big M's current dash-win leader. "But when the gate closed, he hit his leg on my bike, so my horse got a little excited in the first turn, so we moved to the front.”
Dunn went after early leader Shnitzledosomethin and grinded his way to the top at the half in :54.3. On the far turn, Yacht Seelster, who defeated Colossal Stride A the last time the duo met on March 20, was on the go after moving from fifth after the half and inched closer to the leader as they straightened away for the final three-sixteenths.
“My horse heard a noise coming,” said Dunn, the two-time defending United States Harness Writers Association Driver of the Year. “When you have a good horse like that chasing you, you never know. But when my horse heard the other horses coming, he accelerated.”
Colossal Stride A then paced home in :27 to record a one-and-a-half-length win over Yacht Seelster. U S Captain was third.
A six-year-old gelded son of Bettors Delight-Tailamade Lombo who is trained by Nifty Norman, Colossal Stride A returned $3.40 to his backers. He now has 12 wins from 35 starts, good for earnings of $94,413 for owners Paul Sunderhaus, Derek Menchhofer, En Ess Stable and Enzed Racing Stable.
THE FAB FOUR: Leading trainer Jeff Cullipher padded his lead atop the Big M standings with four winners on the card.
Cullipher, whose horses won 125 races during 2020, scored with Lovedbythemasses ($6.20 to win in the third race), Rose Run Vantage ($14.80, fifth), Bechers Brook A ($7.00, seventh) and Dealers Table ($31.00, 10th).
He now has 29 winners at the Big M's current Winter-Spring-Championship meeting, 14 more than Ron Burke, who sits in the second spot.
A BETTING BONANZA: All-source wagering totaled $3,444,133 on the 13-race card, the 13th time out of 14 Saturdays this year betting has broken the $3-million barrier. Overall, the $3-million plateau has been reached 18 times out of a total of 27 programs during 2021. A year ago, betting was $3 million or more a total of 11 times.
A LITTLE MORE: Betting on the 50-cent Pick 4s was vigorous, as the two popular puzzles combined to see action of just over $203,000.
Dunn led the driver colony with three winners.
Racing resumes Friday (April 9) at 6:20 p.m. (EDT).
(The Meadowlands)