Lather Up, the fastest horse in the 43-year history of The Meadowlands, captured the $423,000 William R. Haughton Memorial by one length on Saturday at The Meadowlands.
The four-year-old stallion, trained by Clyde Francis of the George Teague Jr. stable and driven by Montrell Teague, never missed a beat after taking the lead prior to the half mile in :53.1, and stormed home to complete a mile and an eighth in 2:01.1 over 10-1 This Is The Plan, driven by Yannick Gingras.
Last Saturday, Lather Up won the $250,000 Graduate Series final by equalling the all-time mile record of 1:46 set by then five-year-old Always B Miki at Red Mile three years ago. He also broke the previous four-year-old pacing mark of 1:46.4, previously shared by Warrawee Needy and Dr J Hanover.
“I just wanted to make sure I was up close and wanted to be close to the pace,” said Montrell Teague. “I was happy with the fractions. It’s a bit different at a mile and an eighth, because you're not sure how fast you are going, but I was trying not to back down and he got the job done.”
Lather Up, who paid $5.80 to his backers to win, improved his record to 6-0-1 in nine starts.
“Montrell does a great job with him and he (Lather Up) can do whatever he wants. That’s how good he has been racing,” said Francis.
This Is The Plan, who finished second in four of his last five starts, took the runner-up spot again, while Always a Prince and David Miller finished third.
To view results for Saturday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Saturday Results – Meadowlands.