$475,400 Goldsmith Maid was all Bond

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Harness racing trainer-driver Åke Svanstedt soared to the top from post nine with Bond (Southwind Frank) and was not challenged throughout to win the $475,400 Goldsmith Maid, for 2-year-old harness racing trotting fillies, on Saturday (Nov. 26) at the Meadowlands.

Bond took on nine of the division’s other top fillies with aplomb when the gate unfolded, and the rest of the field aimed to keep Svanstedt from steering towards the pylons. Heart On Fire got closest as Bond floated to a :26.4 first panel while Mambacita and long shot Blonde Bombshell lined up behind them. Bond cut the half in :56.2.

Places did not change as the trio behind Bond struggled to keep up. Even with the quick half and some commotion caused by Brunella breaking stride in midfield, Bond torpedoed her lead with three-quarters in 1:26.3 and maintained two lengths of clearance to win in 1:54. Blonde Bombshell closed well up the pylons, but was eclipsed late by Mambacita, who showed her best stride on the outside to finish second. The public’s second choice, Heart On Fire, finished fourth.

“I’ve got to give all the credit to Sarah and Åke [Svanstedt],” said co-owner Jeff Gural of Little E LLC. “They told me this was a good horse. They said, ‘We have a plan.’ I said, ‘You know plans never work out in this business,’ but it worked out. I’ve been doing this 40 years, and I think it’s the first plan that ever worked exactly how the trainer said it would work.”

BOND REPLAY

Bond, who paid $2.80 to win, earned her sixth consecutive win and her seventh in nine career starts. She has earned $587,264 for Åke Svanstedt Inc., Little E LLC and L. Berg Inc.

For complete race results, click here.

by Frank Cotolo, for The Meadowlands