Breeders Crown champ super in $173,300 Kindergarten

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Odds-on favorite and harness racing millionaire Maryland (Chapter Seven) stayed resolute under an intense far-turn blitz and emerged a 1:53.4 winner in the $173,300 Kindergarten Series Final for 2-year-old trotting colts and geldings on Saturday (Nov. 9) at The Meadowlands.

Leaving from post 2, driver Dexter Dunn floated Maryland into a gap to race fourth to a :28.2 first quarter and waited to make his move. With the tempo slowing to the backside, Dunn pulled from the pylons and punched forward to seize the lead after a :58.1 half. Monserrate, tracking Maryland’s sweep, stayed aggressive on the rim and pushed to eye Maryland through the turn.

The pair motored in lockstep past three-quarters in 1:26.2 and stayed sparring on the spin for home. Monserrate downed Maryland by a head early stretch, but Dunn simply raised the whip and held snug lines on his charge in the battle to the finish. Maryland repelled Monserrate and edged away to a half-length win with Durante Hanover, off a ground-saving trip, finishing third and Uno closing from near last for fourth.

“He fights horses off; he’s a real racehorse,” Dexter Dunn said after the race. “He showed his quality in his last two starts – the Breeders Crown – and tonight: a will to win. It’s a great quality to have in a champion horse.

“Dave [Miller]’s horse [Monserrate] put up a great fight,” Dunn also said. “My fella, he knew how to win and he wanted to win. I just wanted to get around that last turn safely, but he showed why he’s a champion trotting colt this year.”