Sevruga rolled to his fourth straight victory in the $15,000 second division of The Magician Friday night at Meadowlands Racetrack
.
After starting from Post 10, Sevruga went straight to the lead and pulled away to win by 3-1/2 lengths in 1:54.3. It was his second win in The Magician series for three-year-old trotters and fourth in five starts this season. The Evictor finished second, in front of third place finisher Wind And A Prayer. Sevruga paid $11.00 to win.
“It was tough from the get-go,” said driver Jim Meittinis. “We drew the 10-hole with 11 in it so we just wanted to float out of there and hopefully get a spot somewhere early. There were no holes to be found so I just rolled him to the front. he responded and just kept going.”
Meittinis co-owns Sevruga with trainer Tyler Raymer. They purchased the son of SJs Caviar several months ago and after a few shoeing adjustments and changes made by Raymer, the gelding began to show improvement.
“He’s a nice animal,” said Meittinis. “He’s still very green but he’s learning more every week and getting better. Our chances are good in the final, so hopefully we draw good and have a smooth journey.”
Take Heart held on gamely to pull an upset in the earlier Magician division. He posted a 1:55.3 victory with Andy Miller at the lines. Runner-up Lost Symbol finished a half-length behind the winner and Sizzling Volo was third. Take Heart, trained by John Butenschoen, returned $29.40.
Lucky Jim posted his first win of the season in the $32,000 invitational trot. Driver Andy Miller moved Lucky Jim out of the pocket early and he easily put away Enough Talk before drawing off to victory in 1:52.3.
After making breaks in each of his three pari-mutuel starts this season, the six-year-old gelding moved into Erv Miller’s barn last month. Lucky Jim comes off a successful 2010 campaign in which he won six of 13 starts and banked over $490,000. The son of S Js Photo has career earnings in excess of $1.6 million.
(Meadowlands Racetrack)
To view results for Friday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Friday Results – Meadowlands Racetrack.