Victorianas Secret and Faster Horses won their respective divisions of the Currier & Ives for three-year-old trotting fillies on Thursday, June 25 at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows.
In the first Currier & Ives division, worth a purse of $40,369, Ginger Tree Lex (Dave Palone) was quick off the car to establish position on the lead. Before the teletimer could flash :27.4, Ronnie Wrenn Jr had Victorianas Secret moving to the lead on their way to a :56.2 opening half. With no backside movement to three-quarters in 1:24.3, the race set up for a final-quarter sprint, and Victorianas Secret battled every step of the stretch to hold off pocket-sitter Ginger Tree Lex by a neck in 1:53.1. Skyline Salty Girl (Mike Wilder) was third.
Victorianas Secret is four-for-five this season, with her only defeat a place finish in the Oak Grove Trotting Oaks. The daughter of Tactical Landing-Victoriana, trained by Vernon Beachy for Ryan Smith, has five wins and $267,864 in earnings from 13 career starts. She paid $2.60 to win.
The $41,073 division of the Currier & Ives was never in doubt. Brian Zendt sent Faster Horses aggressively to the lead from post five in a :27.4 opening quarter. Zendt sat comfortably through an easy :57.3 opening half, and it was not until the three-quarters in 1:25.1 that the plugs were kicked out. The Chris Beaver trainee responded by posting a wrapped-up 1:54 victory by a length over Chestnut Kelly (Dave Palone). Avianna Hanover (Mike Wilder) completed the ticket.
Owned by Beaver, Carolina Acosta, Steve Zeehandelar and Leo Fleming, Faster Horses is four-for-eight this season including a victory in the Ohio Sires Stakes. The daughter of Muscle Up The Goal-Fantasia Flurry is now six-for-18 lifetime with a bankroll of $171,089. The win price was $5.60.
Lou Armstrong ($2.80) put in the fastest and most decisive performance in three $14,085 Pop-Up Series divisions for two-year-old trotting males. The Cuatro De Julio-My Jazz gelding was 7-1/4 lengths the best in 1:56.1 for driver Anthony MacDonald, trainer Tim Twaddle and owner Thestable Lou Armstrong.
Beaver trainee Commanders Moni ($4) won the second split by two lengths in 1:58.1 with Mike Wilder aboard. The Ready For Moni-Kelseys Commando colt is owned by Commanders Moni Stable, Mark Schwartz and Mark Robinson.
Hades Hanover stopped the clock in 1:59.1 with a narrow victory in the third division. The Steve Schoeffel trainee had a nose ahead at the line for driver Brady Brown and owners Kathy Schoeffel, Maxx Fortune Stable and Roger Romesser.
For the 13-race card, Mike Wilder and Jeremy Indof shared driving honours with three wins each. On the training side, Beaver, Twaddle and Schoeffel all had two victories.
The Meadows will host its next card on Friday, June 26 with first-race post time at 5:10 p.m. The evening's card will feature a 10-horse Currier & Ives three-year-old trot going for a purse of $90,675 USD.
(With files from the Meadows Standardbred Owners Association; photo of Victorianas Secret winning on June 25)