The session of qualifiers at Meadowlands Racetrack on Friday, May 22 was compact but power-packed with three 2025 Dan Patch Awards winners prevailing and all four winning horses sharing a common thread in driver Dexter Dunn.
On the trotting side, both of the winning horses came from the stable of Marcus Melander -- Apex and Super Chapter.
Last year's Dan Patch Award winner as the division's top three-year-old male trotter, Super Chapter made his four-year-old debut in the afternoon's first qualifier. The son of Chapter Seven - Lifetime Pursuit sat the pocket behind Warrior (Ake Svanstedt) through fractions of :27.3, :57.1 and 1:27 before Dunn right-lined his charge in the stretch. Trotting home effortlessly in :26, Super Chapter cruised by the tempo-setter for the 1:53.1 victory. Warrior stayed for second, 1-3/4 lengths back, with Meshuggah — the Breeders Crown-winning stablemate to Super Chapter — a solid third in his seasonal bow for driver Scott Zeron.
Trained by Melander for Jeffrey Snyder of New York, N.Y., Arthur Pronti of Jersey City, N.J. and Hanover Shoe Farms Inc. of Hanover, Pa., Super Chapter sports a career summary of 14-6-2 from 25 starts with a mark of 1:50f and $2.4 million in purses.
In the very next qualifier, Dunn and Melander connected once again with trotting colt Apex. The 2025 Dan Patch Award winner in the two-year-old trotting colt division, Apex sat third as an amped-up It Could Be Worse (Zeron) chopped out fractions of :30, :58 and 1:26.4. Apex began his attack just before the third station and trotted home in :26.1 to best It Could Be Worse in a time of 1:53.3. Skillful Tactics (Jason Bartlett) rounded out the top trio.
Apex (Walner - Mission Brief) posted a 6-1-1 summary from nine freshman starts in 2025 for owners Snyder, S R F Stable of Del Ray Beach, Fl. and Steve Stewart of Paris, Ky. while banking $1.2 million and taking his mark of 1:51.4s in the Mohawk Million.
On the pacing side, Dunn drove home sophomore pacing filly Topville Lucky in a 1:51 tightener for trainer Andrew Harris and owner Punisher 11 Stable LLC of Freehold, N.J., and then capped the session with a wire-to-wire 1:51.2 score aboard 2025 Dan Patch Award winner in the Older Pacing Mare category, Twin B Joe Fresh. The six-year-old daughter of Roll With Joe - Fresh Breeze chopped out panels of :29.2, :57.1 and 1:25 before sprinting home in :26.2 to best Jamaican Rock A (Bartlett) by nearly four lengths.
Twin B Joe Fresh boasts a record of 36-9-2 from 49 starts with $3.4 million in purses and a mark of 1:47.3 taken at age four during her U.S. Horse of the Year-winning season.
(Standardbred Canada; photo of Super Chapter winning at The Meadowlands)