MMs Lioness, who missed her freshman season due to an infection, began to make up for lost time Thursday at The Meadows when she captured a division of an $89,034 Arden Downs event for sophomore trotting fillies
in a stake-record 1:55.4.
The Grand Circuit stake, known as the Ned McCarr, was contested over three divisions, with Backstreet Hanover and Sephora De Vie taking the other splits.
MMs Lioness, a $4,000 yearling acquisition for Tom Svrcek, had nothing but misfortune at two, including an infection following OCD removal. She showed promise this year, getting a cheque in each of her first four starts before Dick Stillings cut her lose in the Ned McCarr.
The daughter of Malabar Millennium-Maddie Hanover used a decisive quarter-pole move to score in 1:55.4. She was 4-1/4 lengths better than Dont Blink, with early leader Cutie Pie third. The mile erased the stake record of 1:56.1 previously held by Flowing Jody and Steady Starlet and equaled earlier in the card by Backstreet Hanover.
“She always had plenty of talent, but she missed so much time,” said winning trainer Robbie Roberts. “We have to find some races for her. She has one more stake here, then we might race her at Lexington.”
Backstreet Hanover trotted outside the entire first panel, but she had plenty left for Mike Wilder to defeat Mynah Hanover by 2-1/4 lengths. Kelpie Hanover closed strongly for show.
“We were very conservative with her early in the year because she was so unseasoned last year,” Wilder said. “We had to do everything in slow motion for awhile. The last three starts I’ve been more aggressive with her because she’s a lot more sure of herself. She hasn’t given us a bad race all year, and the last three have been spectacular.”
Dan Altmeyer trains Backstreet Hanover, a daughter of Andover Hall-Bye Bye Kerry who has nine in-the-money finishes in 12 outings this year, and owns with Richard Kelson, Jack Piatt II and Murray Brown.
Sephora De Vie reached the front with a quarter-pole move for Greg Wright, Jr. and held off the late-charging Catching Katie to down that rival by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:56.4. Im A Centerfold rallied to complete the ticket.
“Greg’s done a great job with her,” said his father, Greg Wright, who trains the daughter of Cantab Hall-Ava for Jon Erdner and Ben Kenney. “She was a real firecracker when we broke her. Greg spends a lot of time with her, and that’s paying off. She’s always been flighty, but she’s come a long way.”
Stillings drove three winners on the 15-race card.
Grand Circuit Week resumes Friday at The Meadows with six divisions of the $120,000 Catherine Baker Noll, an Arden Downs stake for two-year-old filly pacers.
(The Meadows)