Alberto Contador took the worst of it with a parked out journey, but the classy nine-year-old survived to win Saturday’s $20,000 featured pace at The Meadowlands over the razor-sharp City Hall.
Bullet Bob left the gate fastest and led the field of eight through an opening quarter in :27.1 before City Hall moved to the lead. Down the backstretch, Corey Callahan sent Alberto Contador on a brush towards the lead, but could not clear City Hall, who had won three of his last four starts.
The duo continued their cutthroat battle through a half-mile in :55 and three-quarters in 1:23. Just when it appeared that Alberto Contador would wilt from the long journey, he found more and gutted out a head victory over City Hall in 1:50.4. The 2-1 favourite, Rodeo Romeo, rallied to be third by a neck.
The win was Alberto Contador’s fourth of the year and 35th lifetime for trainer Darran Cassar and Windermere Stable.
Corey Callahan won three races including the feature and David Miller also added a driving hat trick. Favourites won nine of the 11 races on the program.
Total handle was $2,419,537.
Racing resumes Friday. Post time is 7:15 p.m.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)