Yellow Jacket worked out a perfect trip along the inside and was unleashed at just the right moment by driver Vinny Ginsburg to take the featured $62,500 New Jersey Home Grown for two-year-old colt-and-gelding pacers on Saturday, Aug. 15 at The Meadowlands.
Departing from post two in the nine-horse field, Ginsburg wedged Yellow Jacket into the pocket as We Want Eazy (Jonathan Ahle) led past the quarter in :27.2 while 2-5 favourite Velvet Ditch (Brett Beckwith) was reserved early, racing in fourth.
“My horse looked like he can leave and (Velvet Ditch) seemed a little bit off, a little bit bad-gaited. A little green, maybe,” said Ginsburg. “So, I had my horse step out of there. (We Want Eazy) was a decent horse to follow. I was intent on sitting in the two-hole.”
We Want Eazy took the field past the half in :55.4 as the wonky-gaited Velvet Ditch vacated the rail to go after the leader. We Want Eazy was still there at three-quarters in 1:24.2 as Velvet Ditch continued to inch closer on the rim, and at the head of the stretch, the two were on even terms.
Through the lane, We Want Eazy weakened and Velvet Ditch appeared on his way to the winner's circle, but he took more bad steps in mid-stretch, losing momentum with a 1/16th of a mile to go just as Yellow Jacket was vacating the pocket. Yellow Jacket, a son of Perfect Sting-Wingding Hanover, used a burst of speed to grab a half-length win over a fast-closing B Cs Odds On (Steve Smith). Velvet Ditch held third.
“In deep stretch, (Velvet Ditch) got a little funky. He was moving in and out,” said Ginsburg. “I kind of wanted to move my horse at the top of the stretch. He had a lot of go. But he hasn't been finishing his miles. So, I wanted to keep him in as long as I could. I got a little bit lucky in the stretch when things opened up. The more I asked him down by the wire, the faster he went.”
Trained by Joe Holloway, Yellow Jacket won for the second time from five lifetime tries for Val D'Or Farms. The winning clocking of 1:52.4 was a lifetime best for the 5-1 second choice, who returned $12.80 to win.
There was also a pair of $34,722 New Jersey Home Grown dashes for two-year-old filly pacers contested on the program. The second went to Sterl The Pearl, who demolished her rivals to highlight a training triple for Joe Bongiorno on the 13-race program. The Lazarus N-Cloud Diva filly left alertly, let Call Me Crazy (Stacy Chiodo) to cross over in front of her, then continued to the lead before a :28.1 quarter. She laid down hardy middle fractions of :56.2 and 1:24.1 and widened her advantage further down the stretch, completing a five-length jog in the park in a lifetime-best 1:51.3. Wendy J Stings (Patrick Ryder) finished second over Good Tides (Jonathan Ahle).
Sterl The Pearl, owned by Morrison Racing Stables, upped her record to two wins from five starts. She returned $4.80.
Bongiorno's other two winners, Misty Blue ($3.40) and Drunk Dial ($7.80), were similarly dominant in posting four- and six-length wins, respectively. In his third year of training, Bongiorno is 145-for-587 for a win rate of 24.7 per cent.
The first Home Grown division went to Perfect Hope Deo for driver Johnathan Ahle and trainer Noel Daley. The daughter of Perfect Sting-Machnhope went to the lead while parked to the quarter in a snappy :27.2 and went down the road from there through :55.3 and 1:25.1 fractions to record her second win in five career tries. She stopped the clock in a lifetime-best 1:51.4 with a 1-3/4-length margin over Double Ought (Brett Beckwith). Glittering (Patrick Ryder) completed the ticket. Perfect Hope races for Deo Volente Farms LLC, Joe Sbrocco & JAF Racing, L.A. Express Stable LLC and Daley. She returned $2.20 to win as the 1-9 favorite.
Brett Beckwith led the driver colony with four wins on the night.
All-source handle on the program totalled $1,862,442.
Racing resumes Friday at 6:20 p.m.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)