Pushed four-wide to get the early lead, Im Some Graduate dug in, held off a quartet of challengers late and scored in a career-best 1:50.2 in Monday’s $17,900 Open Handicap Pace at The Meadows.
Im Some Graduate reached the point from post 9 in a demanding :27.1 opening panel for Dave Palone. When the first-over Major Nemesis led a parade of challengers in the lane, the seven-year-old Somebeachsomewhere-Western Graduate gelding refused to yield, defeating Major Nemesis by three-quarters of a length, with K Ryan Bluechip third.
Ron Burke trains Im Some Graduate, who now boasts $499,858 in lifetime earnings, for Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and J&T Silva-Purnel&Libby.
Palone collected five wins on the 15-race card while Aaron Merriman and Jim Pantaleano each fashioned a triple.
Live racing at The Meadows continues Tuesday when the 15-race program features a $5,000 total-pool guarantee for the Early Pick 4 (race 3) and a $4,634.20 carryover in the final-race Super Hi-5. First post is 12:45 p.m.
(Meadows Standardbred Owners Association)