Some of the best four-year-olds in the sport battled in a set of $250,000 Graduate Series Finals on Saturday evening at the Meadowlands Racetrack, with Atlanta and Lather Up winning their respective assignments in world record time.
Manchego cut the opening quarter in :26.2 after leaving hard from Post 10, but she was overtaken by Six Pack in the backstretch. Six Pack then led the group through middle panels of :54.1 and 1:22.
Six Pack dug in late but was picked off in the closing strides by Atlanta in a sparkling time of 1:49.1 – the fastest trotting performance in the history of the Meadowlands and a new world record for four-year-old trotting mares.
“I can’t say I was not worried turning for home,” said Gingras. “His horse (Svanstedt with Six Pack) kicked clear and I know he’s a tremendous horse too but this mare is just unreal. She just kept on digging.
“Honestly I thought I was a winner at the eighth pole but his horse (Svanstedt’s) just kept on fighting and at that point I wasn’t so sure. When I tipped her off cover I really thought I was going to get him a little easier than I did but at the end of the day it was two great horses going at it and we came out on top.”
Ron Burke trains the daughter of Chapter Seven-Hemi Blue Chip for Crawford Farms Racing, Brad Grant and Howard Taylor. It’s now six wins from six starts this season for the 18-time winner who boosted her bankroll to $1,566,477 with the win.
Montrell Teague totally tripped out Lather Up in the $250,000 Graduate Series Final for four-year-old pacers, and the Clyde Francis trainee didn’t let the dreamy trip go to waste.
It was Always A Prince carving wicked panels of :25.3, :52 and 1:19.1 with Lather Up positioned right behind him in the garden spot. Teague angled off the rail in the lane and exploded past Always A Prince en route to halting the teletimer in 1:46 – a clocking that equalled Always B Miki’s world record for the fastest mile in the history of the sport.
This Is The Plan rallied to grab the runner-up spot, with third prize going to Backstreet Shadow.
“I knew we were going to go a crazy mile,” said Montrell Teague. “When I popped the pocket and my horse just sprinted I knew we were in a very good position. He throws in a couple bad races here and there but we showed how good he really is tonight.
“It’s monumental; it’s amazing. Wiggles (2015 Horse of the Year and Teague standout Wiggle It Jiggleit) never did anything like that, but hats off to how good Lather Up really is.”
“George (Teague) has always told me this horse is capable of a (1):46 mile,” said Gary Iles. “He’s been telling me that for the last two years. We have had some bad goes but he has said he really is that good. Of course, now we know he is. I saw those fractions coming up and I saw Montrell and knew where he was sitting and was very confident it was going to be a win.”
Lather Up, a four-year-old son of Im Gorgeous-Pocket Comb, owns a 5-0-1 record from eight starts this season for owners/breeders Gary and Barbara Iles of Harrington, DE. The 20-time winner has now banked $1,465,697 in his career.
(With quotes from Meadowlands)
To view results for Saturday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Saturday Results – Meadowlands Racetrack.