Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire may have had their preferred ballrooms, and it's clear that the equine Ginger And Fred also has her favorite surface - The Meadows.
On Aug. 12, the freshman pacing filly set a stake record in a Pennsylvania Sires Stake called the Sand Tart. On Tuesday, she tripped the light fantastic again, crushing a divisional field by 9-1/4 lengths in 1:53 - another PASS record.
Tuesday's $239,390 stake, known as the Meadow Cheer, was contested over five divisions, with Pedigree Snob, Melissa's Fancy, Toomuchfunwithu and Girls Nite Out capturing the other splits. Tim Tetrick enjoyed a driving triple with Ginger And Fred, Pedigree Snob and Toomuchfunwithu while trainer Jim Arledge, Jr. fashioned a training double with Pedigree Snob and Toomuchfunwithu.
Tetrick was unhurried with Ginger And Fred, who sat fourth before launching her decisive backside move. The daughter of Real Artist-Graceful Motion quickly swallowed up the leaders and waltzed home in :28, with Hatsaway and Tidewater Misty a distant second and third, respectively. Her time erased the previous Meadow Cheer mark of 1:53.3 held jointly by Ramilette Hanover and Hug Me and is the fastest this year for a two-year-old pacing filly on a 5/8-mile track.
"On paper, she looked very competitive," Tetrick said. "But she missed a couple weeks with sickness scratches, and I was trying to take it easy on her and save as much as I could. I never even had to ask her to go. She did it real easy."
Kevin Lare trains Ginger And Fred for the partnership of Taylor, Feldman, Gold and Silva, who acquired the filly in mid-season from breeder/owner Ronald Mersky. Ginger And Fred is eligible for such late-season stakes as the Three Diamonds, the Breeders Crown and the Matron.
Pedigree Snob, winner of the Sweetheart and Countess Adios, pushed her bankroll beyond $331,000 with a facile victory in 1:54. Amazon Queen was 7-1/4 lengths back in second, with Ashlees Star finishing third. Arledge said the daughter of Allamerican Native-Hallmark Hanover likely will race just once more this year, in the PASS championship.
"The owners didn't want to stake her too hard this year," Arledge said. "They want to keep her fresh for next year." David Scharf and Steve Jones own Pedigree Snob.
Melissas Fancy, a half-sister to Artistic Fella, had to work much harder for her victory, opening a 2-1/2 length lead that nearly melted for the 1-5 favorite in deep stretch. With Dave Palone urging her on, she prevailed in 1:54.3, a neck ahead of the rallying Sand E Fiftyfive. Save My Shark was third.
"She's a lot better from off the pace," said Eddie Dennis, who trains the homebred daughter of Blissfull Hall-Everythings Easy for Lawrence Smith. "But when you're 1-to-5, you try to put them out of harm's way and go from there. Even training down, I always kept her covered up. But if you give her a target to shoot at, she'll run it down."
Melissas Fancy will compete in the PASS championship, and Dennis said she may be supplemented to the Matron.
(The Meadows)