Southwind Chrome needed every inch of the stretch to take the Friday night feature at the Meadowlands, which made one simulcast player in Canada very happy, as he or she walked away with the only winning 20-cent Pick-6 ticket, which was worth $39,243.
The Jeff Cullipher-trained Southwind Chrome, no stranger to the Meadowlands winner’s circle having won two straight at the mile track in December, was the figure horse in the Preferred for trotters off a superb second-place finish to Manchego one week ago, when the super mare went the fastest trotting mile of the year in the sport of 1:50.3.
Despite that, it was the Ron Burke-schooled Mission Accepted who was sent to the gate as the even-money public choice, and driver Yannick Gingras had that one on the lead at the half in :54.3. At that point, Scott Zeron moved Southwind Chrome out of the six-hole and started to make his way toward the leader.
“It looked in the program like all of the inside horses would be leaving the gate,” said Zeron. “So I opted to race from off the pace. First up from sixth is no easy trip but he really toughed it out.”
Zeron and ‘Chrome’ were just a length and a quarter behind the leader at three-quarters after making steady progress around the far turn, setting the stage for a cutthroat stretch duel.
Through the lane, it looked like Southwind Chrome poked a head in front at the eighth pole before Mission Accepted came back determinedly to get a slight edge with a sixteenth to go only to have Southwind Chrome have one final surge right before the wire to prevail by a nose in 1:51.
“That would be a good explanation [of what happened through the stretch],” said Zeron. “He really battled. Jeff [Cullipher] is aiming him for the [July 4] Cutler. His form is impeccable right now.”
A five-year-old son of Chapter Seven-Counter Pointe, Southwind Chrome returned $4.60 as the 6-5 second choice for owners Pollack Racing and Jeff Cullipher. He now has 12 wins from 35 lifetime starts and earnings of $218,960.
The giant Pick-6 payout started from a modest $6,843 carryover and was keyed in the first leg by a longshot as the Eric Abbatiello-trained and driven Broadway Bruiser left the gate quickly in the fourth race, worked out a pocket trip and then charged through the inside late to record a 40-1 upset. The middle four legs of the wager were won by ‘haveable’ horses, whose odds were 5-1, 2-1, 2-1 and 1-2, respectively.
A LITTLE MORE: A formful night of racing saw seven favourites click on the 13-race program. Overall, 10 races were won by horses whose odds were 2-1 or less. … Ten different drivers visited the winner’s circle with Gingras leading the way with three victories while Tim Tetrick scored twice. … Wagering at the Big M remained remarkably consistent as a total of $2,650,358 was pushed through the windows, upping the streak of programs with wagering of at least $2.5 million to 10. … Racing resumes Saturday at 7:15 p.m.
(Meadowlands Racetrack)