A pair of New Jersey Sire Stakes-Standardbred Development Fund races were held at Freehold Raceway on Friday (Sept. 4). One race saw the heavy chalk win, another saw an upset.
Overwhelming 1-10 favourite Common Sense S won the second leg of the series for three-year-old trotting fillies by 3-1/2 lengths. Steve Smith put her on the lead early, clearing to the pylons just after the opening quarter. From there, she never looked back and drew off to a handy 1:58.2 win for co-owner and trainer Åke Svanstedt and co-owner SRF Stable. This was her first win of the year from seven starts, and it pushed her earnings past the $200,000 mark.
In the first leg of the series for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings, Kasha V got the job done at 10-1. He got the dream trip in the pocket behind early leader Fly Eagle Fly, who set a moderate tempo while not sneaking away from the rest. In the stretch, Kasha V moved outside and wore down Fly Eagle Fly for a half-length win in 2:00. That was his first career win from 19 starts for owner Theologos Moutafis and trainer Tom Corelli.
Live racing continues on Saturday (Sept. 5), with a first post of 12:30 p.m. Eastern and a $1,885.39 carryover in the Pick-5.
(Freehold Raceway)