A slick move through slow early fractions by catch-driver Yannick Gingras to loop Nezuko Kamado S to the lead placed her at a strong tactical advantage to grit a last-ditch blitz by pocket-pouncing Carve and win the $694,444 Winning Key Farm Hambletonian Oaks (Grade 1) in 1:51.4 at The Meadowlands on Saturday, Aug. 8.
Nezuko Kamado S, the 4-5 favourite with Yannick Gingras substituting for injured driver Scott Zeron, eased out of post two into fourth as Carve (Andrew McCarthy) motored from the center of the gate by pylon-starter Busy Miss Lissy S (Ake Svanstedt) to take the lead. But after the first quarter clicked in just :28.2, Gingras floated Nezuko Kamado S off the pylons and lifted for the lead in the backstretch. She cleared Carve before a :56.2 half, at which point Setyoursightshigh (Dexter Dunn) got underway with an uncovered bid up the rim.
Setyoursightshigh advanced to match strides with stablemate Nezuko Kamado S coming to three-quarters in 1:25.1, bottling Carve in the pocket and towing Frattina Diablo S (Todd McCarthy) into contention from second-over. Nezuko Kamado S turned for home and waited until around the eighth pole to sprint, springing away from Setyoursightshigh while giving Carve clearance to angle out for a final attack. Carve swung out and clawed desperately for the lead late but came up a neck short at the beam with Setyoursightshigh left in third and Frattina Diablo S taking fourth. Another Melander trainee, Lainey W (James MacDonald), rounded out the top five.
“I really didn’t want to be on the lead,” Gingras said after the race. “I thought there would be a lot of speed from the outside, and I was surprised when the gate opened up [that] we weren’t going much. I knew at that point, the middle of the first turn, that I was going to move to the lead, and it was a winning move. I knew in the last turn I had the horse to beat on my back. It was a matter of not going too fast and halfway down the stretch I let mine loose a little bit, and almost got loose a little too early because Andy’s filly really quickened and gave me a run down the lane.”
A filly by Chapter Seven out of the Muscle Hill mare Zefira Kronos IT, Nezuko Kamado S has won five of her six starts this season and 11 of 17 starts in her career, pushing her earnings to $1,466,841 for owner/breeder Courant Inc. of Delray Beach, Florida.
“It’s fantastic [to win],” said Anders Ström of Courant Inc. “It’s a homebred, great horse, great work by the trainer Marcus Melander and all his team, but it felt especially good to see Scott Zeron in the winner’s circle with us today.”
Ström, who also thanked Gingras for catch-driving after Nezuko Kamado S’s regular reinsman Zeron was injured in a spill on Thursday night at Yonkers Raceway, said he left the decision for the driver change to trainer Melander.
“Scott took care of this filly all year. I feel very bad that he couldn’t drive today,” said Melander. “I’m very thankful Yannick could step in and do such good work, but I do want to say a big thank you to Scott as well. Without him, we wouldn’t be here. We had three good horses coming into the race here, so of course you have your hopes up. I’ve been the favourite in these races before, finishing second, third or whatever. It’s a hard race to win and I’m happy we got it done.”
“I couldn’t say 'yes' fast enough, unfortunately that’s not how you want to get a drive, but no doubt it was an easy decision,” said Gingras of the live catch-drive. “All the credit goes to Scotty [Zeron]. It’s two years that he’s been working on this filly for a day like today. It’s bittersweet – I’m happy to pick up the drive and win the race – but the win is his. These horses are built up for races like this; they’re ready for big performances. I don’t think it mattered which way I raced her because he had her so brave, so all credit to him.”
Nezuko Kamado S paid $3.80 to win.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)