The highly anticipated Hambletonian match-up between Karl and T C I is coming after the top three-year-old trotters won a pair of $138,889 eliminations with relative ease at The Meadowlands on Saturday night, July 27.
Karl's personal-best time of 1:50.3 for the mile was a strong rebound from his only loss of the season in the Stanley Dancer Memorial two weeks ago.
Yannick Gingras, in the bike again, rested Karl into third while Situationship (Ake Svanstedt) flew from post 10 to take the early lead over Security Protected (Tim Tetrick) in a fiery first quarter of :26.3. By the :55.2 half, Karl took to the outside and cruised by Situationship after three-quarters in 1:23.3. Gingras nursed Karl through the lane and crossed the line under wraps and 1-1/4 lengths in front. A late-charging Bellas Musclehill (David Miller) angled from second-over to finish second with Sig Sauer (Andy McCarthy) finishing third. Also making the final from the first elimination were Highland Kismet (Bob McClure), the crowd’s second choice in the betting who finished fourth, and another longshot in Security Protected, who finished fifth.
"He bounced back [from a loss] and was the best he ever looked or left from the gate," said trainer Nancy Takter. "I don't mind the pressure but I don't like to lose. He's versatile and has a strong kick. He's going to be peaking at the right time for next week's race."
Takter will be trying for her second straight Hambletonian win, having taken the 2023 edition with Tactical Approach.
Karl, now a 14-time winner and an earner of more than $1.3 million lifetime, is owned by Christina & Nancy Takter, Black Horse Racing, Crawford Farms Racing and Bender Sweden.
The Tactical Landing-Avalicious colt was the huge favourite in the first elimination field of 10. He paid $2.80 to win.
A wire-to-wire victory and a lifetime mark appeared business as usual for the rebounding T C I and driver David Miller. The O'Brien Award-winning son of Cantab Hall-Nicoles Promise posted a 1:50.4 win in the second Hambletonian elimination.
T C I motored from post one for the lead with a :27.3 first panel while Private Access (James MacDonald) and Amazing Catch (Dexter Dunn) followed into a :56.1 half. Secret Agent Man (Andy Miller) went first-over to the final turn, but only moved evenly through three-quarters in 1:24. Not even a strong challenge near the wire by Private Access, the only remaining rival in contention, could faze the Ron Burke trainee. T C I finished a neck better than Private Access with longshot Amazing Catch another six lengths behind in third. Also making the final were Secret Agent Man, finishing fourth, and Mars Hill (Todd McCarthy), finishing fifth.
David Miller confirmed T C I overcame some stomach problems and trainer Burke added some shoe changes to help in the win.
"I was planning on getting him out [in front] early and we went as easy as I could," said Miller.
T C I is now the winner of 14 races from 18 starts and more than $1.7 million as he readies to meet Karl in the Hambletonian final. He competes for owners Burke Racing Stable, Hatfield Stables, Knox Services and Weaver Bruscemi. He paid $4.80 to win.
The winterbook dream of Karl versus T C I, and eight other trotting glamour boys, happens at The Meadowlands next Saturday, Aug. 3 in the $1.05 million USD Hambletonian final. Karl and T C I, having won their eliminations, will draw from posts one through five for the final.
The Hambletonian Oaks now has its 10 finalists following three $69,444 eliminations on Saturday night at The Meadowlands, from which Allegiant, Elista Hanover and R Melina clinched gold and post protection.
Vernon Beachy pupil Allegiant uncorked a slight surprise winning the first Hambletonian Oaks elimination as the third choice with an authoritative 1:51.4 mile.
Scott Zeron hustled the daughter of Tactical Landing out of post six and to the top, where her peers left her to her own devices. Movement launched after Allegiant clocked a pedantic :56.4 half, but the footsteps followed with fury and futility. Allegiant scooted away from the field to post a four-length victory over 3-5 favourite French Champagne (Dexter Dunn), who marched first-over to grab second. Paulina Hanover (David Miller) rallied from last to snag the last berth, finishing third.
“We had luck a couple years ago with one and we wanted to try a New Jersey-bred again and we ended up with this one, which has been a blessing,” said Beachy. “She’s been a really nice filly from day one. We were unlucky [in previous starts], but were prepping her for some of the bigger stuff. That’s what we’re shooting for.”
Winning for the eighth time from 17 starts, Allegiant – out of the Yankee Glide mare Too Good For You – sent her bankroll over the $500,000 mark for owner Ryan Smith of Dennison, Ohio. She returned $11.60 to win.
Elista Hanover will now risk a 10-race win streak in the Hambletonian Oaks final after she swept away from her rivals to a 1:51.3 win in the second elimination.
In her class test, Elista Hanover left the gate with David Miller and abandoned a pocket trip to grab command to a :57 dawdle to the half. The 3-5 favourite then faced a far-turn blitz from Buy A Round (Andy McCarthy), who rushed up the rim out of fifth and even put a head in front of Elista Hanover by three-quarters in 1:25. Elista Hanover remained resilient through the challenge and held her ground into the stretch. She rebuffed a flattening Buy A Round and edged away to win by 1-1/2 lengths at the beam. Drawn Impression (James MacDonald) fanned off a pocket ride to the center of the track to take second while Warrawee Michelle (Ake Svanstedt) slid up the pylons to grab third. Buy A Round, the richest of the fourth-place finishers from the three eliminations, earned the last spot into the final.
“It feels like I’m living a dream right now,” said trainer Annie Stoebe after winning the elimination. “She’s just amazing. I’m comfortable with how she is coming into this big race.”
Elista Hanover entered Saturday’s eliminations with nine wins in a row, including a 1:53.1 romp in a Tompkins-Geers division on July 20 at The Meadowlands. The daughter of International Moni-Evermore has now won 11 times from 20 starts and is closing in on $300,000 in earnings for Stoebe and co-owners R. Lynn and Philomena Curry. She paid $3.20 to win.
R Melina stayed flat and overcame the outermost post of the octet to win in the third Hambletonian Oaks elimination in 1:51.4.
Todd McCarthy floated R Melina forward through a tepid :28 first quarter and strolled at a methodical, but consistent speed all while few challengers loomed. By three-quarters in 1:24.1, R Melina had yet to see any other horse and finished the mile without seeing another, crossing the line first and one length better than pocket-chaser Miss I La (Joe Bongiorno) in second. Date Night Hanover (Dexter Dunn), the 4-5 favourite, got rolling just past the half but only managed to finish third in her closing surge.
“This is as good as we’ve seen her be,” said winning trainer John Butenschoen. “She tries. It doesn’t matter where we’re at, what happened, what she does… she’s tried every start we’ve ever put her in. Hopefully, we come away with a decent journey next week and see what happens.”
A daughter of Chapter Seven out of the Explosive Matter mare Goodtogo Hanover, R Melina notched her 12th win from 20 starts and is nearing $700,000 in earnings for owners M And L Of Delaware LLC and Alabama Harness Associate. She paid $5.80 to win.
By winning their eliminations, Allegiant, Elista Hanover and R Melina have earned the privilege to draw from posts one through five for the $500,000 USD Hambletonian Oaks final, which serves as the companion feature to the Hambletonian.
The post position draws for both the Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks will be held at a press conference on Tuesday, July 30 at Hogan Equine in Cream Ridge, New Jersey. The press conference, which is open to anyone who would like to attend, is from 2-5 p.m., with the Hambo and Oaks draws to take place at 3 p.m. Big M TV’s Ken Warkentin and Jessica Otten will serve as the hosts. Food and refreshments will be served. For those who can’t make it in person, the event can be seen live on the Meadowlands YouTube channel and Facebook pages. Look for it shortly before 3 p.m.
In other Grand Circuit stakes action on Saturday, M Ms Dream sat a pocket trip before exploding home to take the $55,556 fifth leg of the Miss Versatility Series for open mare trotters in 1:51.2 for trainer Ron Burke and driver Yannick Gingras. The five-year-old daughter of Swan For All-Trading Places returned $3 to win as the 1-2 favourite.
A pair of Tompkins-Geers Stakes for three-year-old pacing fillies, worth approximately $40,000 each, were won by the Nancy Takter-trained Caviart Belle (Yannick Gingras) in 1:50.1 and Rocket Deo (Andy McCarthy) over fellow Brett Pelling trainee Sweet Gal in 1:49.3. Trained by Jake Leamon, Mirage Hanover (Tim Tetrick) took the $98,750 division for the colts in 1:49, extending his lead to more than six lengths with a :25.4 final frame.
All-source handle on the 14-race card totalled $3,149,366 USD, marking the 40th time this year from 59 race cards that betting bettered the $3 million mark USD.
Racing resumes on Friday at 6:20 p.m., the next-to-last program of the meeting before Hambletonian Day, which has a special post time of noon.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)