Aged trotting division leader Periculum navigated through a perfect second-over trip in rein to Scott Zeron to add the $416,667 John Cashman Memorial (Grade 2) to his resume on Saturday, Aug. 2 at The Meadowlands.
Up Your Deo (Ake Svanstedt) and Sir Pinocchio (Jason Bartlett) were aggressive leaving the gate, exchanging leads and burning the first quarter in :26.2, only to surrender to a strong brush by eight-hole starter Lexus Kody (Yannick Gingras). The tempo slowed a bit with Lexus Kody on a lead that he kept while scoring a :54 half.
Private Access (Louis-Philippe Roy) presented a first-over move from mid-pack that Zeron utilized to start Periculum's covered attack. Zeron's charge perched into fourth as the top three felt the weight of a 1:22.1 three-quarter clocking.
Fueled with trot, Periculum was raring to storm the stretch and devour the tiring top three. Zeron let his steed loose while his Marcus Melander stablemate Security Protected (Andy McCarthy) found his best stride late and Chapercraz (David Miller) set sail through an opening at the pylons. Periculum powered home to a lifetime-best victory of 1:49.3 by a widening 2-3/4 lengths as Security Protected clinched second from Chapercraz and Private Access faded to fourth.
“We had great cover following a really good horse,” said Zeron after the race. “I expected him to be good off of that trip. I was hoping Louis was going to do just that – he had no other options [and] was a little far back to power move, which played to my hand and I was able to have a nice second-over trip. I’ve been in that spot with him a few times and he hasn’t disappointed me, so I was like, ‘Please, not today.’”
Periculum, a six-year-old stallion by Muscle Hill out of Amour Heiress who won the Arthur J. Cutler Memorial and Crawford Farms Trot at The Meadowlands already this year, was the 2-5 betting choice in the Cashman and paid $2.80 to win.
Trained by Melander for owners Brixton Medical of Matawan, New Jersey Holly Lane Stud East of Vero Beach, Florida, Periculum bagged his third win from four starts this season and his 14th victory from 54 starts in his career. He reached a money milestone, going over the $2 million mark in lifetime earnings. The double millionaire was bred by Order By Stable Ab.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)