The publicity department for the Grand Circuit has sent its weekly recap and preview of racing on the Grand Circuit.
This Week: MGM Springfield Stakes final, Yonkers Raceway; Yonkers, N.Y. and Meadowlands Pace final, William Haughton Memorial, Hambletonian Maturity, Stanley Dancer Memorial, Delvin Miller Memorial, Mistletoe Shalee, Dorothy Haughton Memorial, and Miss Versatility leg, The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, N.J.
Schedule of events: Grand Circuit action begins on Friday (July 16) at Yonkers with the $150,000 final in the MGM Springfield Stakes for two-year-old colt pacers.
The Meadowlands has multiple stakes, led by the $700,000 Meadowlands Pace final for three-year-olds, on Saturday (July 17). Also on the card will be two divisions in the $530,800 William Haughton Memorial for older pacers, the $400,000 Hambletonian Maturity for four-year-old trotters, two divisions in the $273,500 Stanley Dancer Memorial for three-year-old male trotters, two divisions in the $281,500 Delvin Miller Memorial for three-year-old filly trotters, the $174,400 Mistletoe Shalee for three-year-old filly pacers, the $178,500 Dorothy Haughton Memorial for older pacing mares, and the $40,000 fourth leg of the Miss Versatility for older trotting mares.
Last Time: Cattlewash won Saturday’s (July 10) $250,000 Graduate Series final for four-year-old pacers in 1:47.1, equalling this season’s fastest mile, over a sloppy track at The Meadowlands. Poseidon Seelster finished second and Tattoo Artist, the leader for much of the mile, was third.
Tattoo Artist (Todd McCarthy), starting from post seven, went straight to the front, with Poseidon Seelster (George Brennan) settling in second from post six and Cattlewash (David Miller) dropping in third from post eight. Tattoo Artist led to the quarter in :25.3, half in :53.3, and three-quarters in 1:20.1.
Captain Barbossa (Dexter Dunn) made a first-over move on the backstretch but got no closer than third. Favorite Ruthless Hanover (Andrew McCarthy) went off stride prior to the half-mile point.
Poseidon Seelster and Cattlewash both came after Tattoo Artist in the stretch, and Cattlewash won the battle by a head thanks to a :26.2 last quarter.
“I was going to take a shot, and hopefully it worked out, whether I had cover or not,” winning driver David Miller said about the start of the race. “There was a great big three hole, so I took it, and it worked out.
“Last year, I thought he raced best on the lead, but this year so far they’ve been going so much that I’ve had to sit him in a hole. I thought he raced tremendous tonight.”
Miller guided Cattlewash, a son of Somebeachsomewhere out of Road Bet, to the win for trainer Ron Burke and breeder-owner Bill Donovan. It was Cattlewash’s first win this season in four starts. The stallion has won 11 of 34 in his career, with earnings of $973,527.
“He’s just an all-around great horse,” Miller said. “He can race any way you want him to. He’s just a good solid horse.”
Cattlewash, sent off at 7-1, paid $16.20 to win.
Complete recaps of all the races are available at the Grand Circuit website.
Grand Circuit Standings: In 2021, the Grand Circuit leaders in three categories (driver, trainer and owner) will once again be tracked on a points system (20-10-5 for the top three finishers in divisions/finals and 10-5-2 for the top three finishers in eliminations/legs). Winbak Farms is the sponsor for the 2021 Grand Circuit awards.
Here are the leaders (through the races on July 10):
Drivers: 1. Yannick Gingras – 350; 2. Andrew McCarthy – 230.5; 3. Tim Tetrick – 222; 4. Dexter Dunn – 183; 5. David Miller – 182.
Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 450; 2. Tony Alagna – 154.5; 3. Marcus Melander – 149; 4. Nancy Takter – 139; 5. Ake Svanstedt – 109.
Owners: 1. Burke Racing Stable – 91.2; 2. Weaver Bruscemi – 87.4; 3. Brad Grant – 83; 4. Courant Inc. – 82; 5. Fiddler’s Creek Stables – 60.
Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will take place next week at Saratoga Harness, Plainridge Park, The Meadowlands and The Meadows. Saratoga will host the Joe Gerrity for older pacers; Plainridge has the Spirit of Massachusetts for older trotters and the Clara Barton for older pacing mares; The Meadowlands has the opening leg of the Kindergarten Series for two-year-old pacers and trotters and the Arthur Tompkins Memorial for three-year-old trotters; and The Meadows has the eliminations for the Delvin Miller Adios for three-year-old male pacers.
(Grand Circuit)