It came as no surprise that Greenshoe was a bounce back winner in his Stanley Dancer Memorial following a bad beat in the Earl Beal, Jr. Memorial, but many had to be surprised with the relatively easy manner in which Swandre The Giant handled the competition in the second division.
Trainer Ron Burke put Swandre The Giant on the Lasix program and pulled his shoes after a ho-hum start to the season, and those changes likely played a part in the colt stepping up and posting a 1:51.3 triumph in his $153,000 assignment.
Sent off at odds of 5-1, the son of Swan For All-Adagio got away third while Summit In Sight shot to the top and served up a first quarter clocked in :28.1. Race favourite Green Manalishi S swept to the lead in the second quarter, and he proceeded to lead the field past the mid-way point in :56.2.
Miller was on the move going to the half with Swandre The Giant, and they quickly motored up alongside Green Manalishi S at the three-quarter pole in 1:24.1. Swandre The Giant summoned up a :27.1 closing panel, and that was enough to earn him the win by a length over Green Manalishi S. Reign Of Honor rounded out the top three finishers in the seven-horse affair.
“It was definitely the Lasix, and they pulled his shoes off too,” driver David Miller said after Swandre The Giant snapped a four-race skid. “He felt really strong. Through the stretch I was getting by (Green Manalishi S) without even asking him yet. He trotted right on by. He went a huge mile.”
“He dominated Indiana and Brandon [former trainer/driver Brandon Bates] did a great job developing him,” Diamond Creek’s Adam Bowden said. “This is the kind of horse that we saw. Finally, he realized that.”
It was the second win of the season from six attempts for Swandre The Giant, who went 9-for-12 in his rookie campaign. Diamond Creek Racing, J And T Silva Stables LLC and Howard Taylor share ownership on the career winner of $426,684. The 1:51.3 clocking was a career-best performance for the talented trotter.
Greenshoe was sent off as the 1-5 favourite in the second division, and the Marcus Melander-trained monster powered away from the competition in the lane en route to stopping the teletimer in a dazzling clocking of 1:50.1.
Brian Sears got away third from Post 7 with Greenshoe while the early belonged to Pilot Discretion. That undefeated youngster rolled the field through first-half fractions of :27.4 and :55.4 before being confronted in the backstretch by Greenshoe.
A mere three-quarters of a length separated them at the three-quarter pole in 1:23.1,but Greenshoe unleashed a :26.4 closing quarter which helped propel him to the win by 3-3/4 lengths over Pilot Discretion. Super Schissel was a well-beaten third.
“All along he’s been a really talented colt, has a really high turn of speed, and he showed it tonight,” Sears said. “He’s done everything we’ve asked all year long and he’s done it pretty easily, pretty in hand, so we’re real happy with where we’re at right now.”
“I’m always nervous when he races,” Melander said. “Even if he’s behaved in all his starts this year, I still don’t trust him because you know one little misstep can cost you the race. Today (Sears) left a little bit out of there (from the gate) and kept him calm, and he behaved.”
The victory improved Greenshoe’s record to 4-1-0 from five trips to the track this season, and it boosted his lifetime win total to six. The career winner in excess of $400,000 is owned by Courant Inc, Hans Backe, Lars Granqvist and Morten Langli.
To view results for Saturday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Saturday Results – Meadowlands.