Icanflylikeanangel enjoyed a second-quarter breather — and needed every bit of it as he had to dig in late to preserve his victory in Friday’s (May 28) $16,000 Open Handicap Trot at The Meadows.
After reaching the point in a hotly contested :27.2 opening panel in the slop, Icanflylikeanangel got to relax through a :29.4 second quarter. But he was threatened by the first-over Rising MVP and Mind Yown Business, who joined the fray late. The seven-year-old Archangel-Fox Valley London gelding responded to the urging of Mike Wilder and held off Mind Yown Business by a neck in 1:54.4, with Rising MVP third.
Randy Bendis trains the winner, who lifted his lifetime bankroll to $478,163, and owns with Pollack Racing LLC.
Hunter Myers piloted three winners on the 13-race card.
Live racing at The Meadows continues Saturday (May 29), when frosh champ Anoka Hanover seeks her ninth straight victory in a $143,142 Pennsylvania Sires Stake for sophomore filly trotters. The 13-race program also features a $4,483.08 carryover in the final-race Super Hi-5. First post is 12:45 p.m.
(Meadows Standardbred Owners Association)