12-1 longshot upsets Atlanta’s debut

World champion trotting mare Altanta was nipped at the wire in her 2022 debut by 12-1 longshot Herculisa in their $30,000 division of the Miss Versatility Series at The Meadowlands Friday. The harness racing series is for older trotting mares.

The 10^th race second division saw Herculisa and driver Dexter Dunn leave first over the sloppy, rain-soaked track, only to give way to Royalty Deal (Andy McCarthy) by the first quarter in :27.4.

They raced single file through the half mile in :56.3 and then the action began to heat up as driver Yannick Gingras took Atlanta first-over from third place and began to gain on race leader Royalty Deal at the three-quarters in 1:26.1.

As they started down the stretch, Atlanta put away Royalty Deal but then had to deal with a charging Herculisa, who kept gaining ground with every stride to defeat Atlanta by only a neck in 1:52.1, a :26 last quarter mile. When Dovescry (David Miller) was third.

HERCULISA REPLAY

Unbeaten now in two starts this year, Herculisa is a four-year-old mare by My MVP. She is trained by Virgil Morgan, Jr. for the Jesmeral Stables of Scarsdale, NY and paid $27.00 to win.

Next Level Stuff lived up to her name in the first $30,000 division of the Miss Versatility Trot, wiring the field in the 6^th race over the sloppy track.

This was the opening leg of the series for the top trotting mares in the sport.

Tim Tetrick and Next Level Stuff were able to take the lead away from Katie’s Lucky Day (Scott Zeron) by the opening quarter mile in :27.4.

With no challenges, Tetrick gave his mount a breather, taking the field to the half mile in :57.2. There were no changes past the three-quarters in 1:26.1.

As they came down the stretch, Next Level Stuff kicked in a :26.3 last quarter mile and held off both Bella Bellini (Dexter Dunn), who beat Katie’s Lucky Day for place by a nose. Next Level Stuff won by a half-length in 1:52.4.

NEXT LEVEL STUFF REPLAY

It was the second straight win in two starts this year for Next Level Stuff. A five-year-old mare by Sebastian K S, she is trained by Jim Campbell for the Runthetable Stables of Montvale, NJ. She paid $3.40 to win.

BETTING TOPS $3 MILLION: With three races seeing total betting in excess of $300,000 – two of them GSY (Gural Settlemoir Yarock) Racing Club events – total wagering for the 13-race program topped $3 million for the eighth time in 2022 as a total of $3,118,436 was pushed through the windows despite the sloppy conditions.

NJSS KICKS OFF: The New Jersey Sire Stakes season began with five $30,000 dashes for 3-year-olds on the trot in the first leg of the series.

In the first of three divisions for colts and geldings, Temporal Hanover ($21.00 to win) scored by a half-length in 1:54 over Classic Hill for driver Brian Sears and trainer Marcus Melander. The son of Walner-Think Twice now has six wins from just 13 career starts.

B A Superhero ($3.00) made it two-for-two in 2022 for Tetrick and Lucas Wallin, coming from off the pace to catch Looks Like Moni by a length. The son of Muscle Hill-Win Missy B stopped the clock in 1:54.1.

Periculum (Muscle Hill-Amour Heiress) exploded home in :27.1 to score by four widening lengths over Tachyon in 1:55 for Mattias Melander and brother Marcus. He returned $9.80 to win.

In the first of two dashes for fillies, 2021 Mohawk Million and Jim Doherty Memorial winner Venerable scored from off the pace, nipping Jiggy Jog S by a nose in 1:55.1 for Dave Miller and Nifty Norman. The daughter of Walner-Jolene Jolene, who earned over $1 million last year, returned $6.20 to win in her first start of the season.

Peyton Hanover ($6.40) sat a pocket trip behind even-money favorite Gracelynn Hanover and gunned that one down nearing the wire by three-quarters-of-a-length in 1:54.4. The daughter of Muscle Hill-Pennies From Above gave Marcus Melander a Sire Stakes training triple. Tetrick was in the bike.

NON-BETTORS: Before the wagering card, a pair of New Jersey Sire Stakes events for 3-year-olds on the pace were contested.

Count Mara, a gelding by Lis Mara-Madam Countess, hit the wire 13¼ lengths in front of Dry Ridge Caldwell in recording his first career score in 1:59 in the split for colts and geldings for Dunn and John Pyott.

Bee Aware, a daughter of Great Vintage-M A Jackie, took the filly event in 1:57.3 for Steve Smith and Laurie Molnar by gunning down Not So Evil nearing the wire by a neck.

A LITTLE MORE: Tetrick led the driver colony with three winners while Melander’s training triple was tops among the conditioners. … There were no winning tickets sold in the 20-cent Pick-6, creating a carryover of $8,406. Those with five correct collected $934.08. … For those who want to get a head start on their handicapping, all past performances for every Meadowlands card are available for free by going to playmeadowlands.com. … Racing resumes Saturday at 6:20 p.m.

For complete race results, click here.

By Steve Wolf, for Harnesslink