Carbine upsets Charlie May in Graduate

The Meadowlands hosted the opening round of the Graduate for four-year-old’s Saturday night and the harness racing Grand Circuit series got underway with an upset as Carbine beat Charlie May.

The sixth race $50,000 Graduate first division for pacers saw Bettors Donttell (Yannick Gingras) grab early lead from Carbine (Todd McCarthy) to the first quarter in :26.3. Then driver David Miller had the 1/5 favorite Charlie May on the move, and they took over before the half mile in :54.2.

Then it was Hellabalou (Andy McCarthy) coming first-over in the backstretch and coming after Charlie May by the three-quarters in 1:22.

As they came down the stretch, it was Carbine and Todd McCarthy coming back after Charlie May in a dramatic stretch drive, going on to win in the final strides by a head in 1:49.3, tying his lifetime mark. Southwind Gentry (Corey Callahan) was third.

At odds of 4-1, Carbine paid $10.00 to win. The stallion by Somebeachsomewhere notched his first win in two starts this year. He is trained by Tony Alagna for the Let It Ride Stable, Bottom Line Racing and Howard Taylor.

CARBINE REPLAY

The $75,000 Graduate Series division for the trotters saw Sonofamistery able to hold off a late charge by Rattle My Cage.

The 7^th race began with Ahundreddollarbill (Todd McCarthy) first on the lead to the quarter in :27 with Cuatro De Julio (Louis Baudron) on the move and once they cleared to the lead they went off-stride.

Then it was Sonofamistry and driver Brian Sears coming first-over and cutting the mile at the half in :55 and that left Rattle My Cage and driver Yannick Gingras first-over against Sonofamistry head and head past the three-quarters in 1:23.

Rattle My Cage was game against Sonofamistery down the stretch but could not collar the leader as Sonofamistery won by a half length in 1:52.1 with Delayed Hanover (Ake Svanstedt) third.

Unbeaten in 2022 after three starts, Sonofamistery paid $7.40 to win as the co-favorite. The Muscle Hill stallion is trained by Marcus Melander for S R F Stable and Holly Lane Stud East.

SONOFAMISTERY REPLAY

The second $50,000 Graduate divisions for pacers was the eighth race where Abuckabett Hanover charged home a winner for driver Tim Tetrick.

It was I’ll Drink To That (David Miller) out to the early lead with Chase H Hanover (Brian Sears) second to the first quarter in :26.2. Favorite Lou’s Pearlman (Yannick Gingras) was first-over and cleared to the lead before the half mile in :54.1.

Then Rockyroad Hanover and driver Dexter Dunn came first-over to challenge and push the field to the three-quarters in 1:24 with Abuckabett Hanover and Terick following their live-cover second-over.

As they came down the stretch it was all Abuckabett Hanover collaring the field and passing them by to win by one and one-quarter lengths in 1:50 over Lou’s Pearlman with Rockyroad Hanover third.

A Betting Line-sired stallion, Abuckabett Hanover paid $6.20 to win in his first start of the 2022 season. He is trained by Tony Alagna and owned by Crawford Farms Racing and Alagna Racing.

ABUCKABETT HANOVER REPLAY

The 2021 Harness Horse of the Year, Test Of Faith, was a dismal fourth place finisher in a $40,000 Mares Open Pace that was won by Amazing Dream N ($13.20) in 1:50.

Amazing Dream N (Todd McCarthy) won by a neck over Gia’s Surreal (Scott Zeron) with Racine Bell (Jason Bartlett) third.

NINE IS FINE: Saturday marked another night of big action at The Big M, as a total of $3,359,528 was put in play, marking the ninth time this year that betting busted the magic $3-million barrier.

Also, for the second time in 2022, betting blew past the $3-million plateau on both nights of the race week.

On April 1-2, a total of $6.3 million was pushed through the windows, while this weekend saw a total of $6.4 million in all-source wagering.

Saturday night’s 50-cent Pick-4 races once again served to stimulate the pools, as a total of $355,651 was wagered on the sixth race before $337,816 was bet on the 10th.

A LITTLE MORE: Workin Ona Mystery had little problems negotiating the track labeled ‘good’, as the 6-year-old son of Captaintreacherous-Dragon’s Tale, a Ron Burke trainee, scorched the mile oval on the front end with Tetrick piloting to the tune of :26.2, :54.2 and 1:21.4 before sprinting home in :26.2 to record a lifetime-best equaling time of 1:48.1, which equaled the fastest mile of 2022, originally established by Red Right Hand two weeks ago. Working Ona Mystery returned $4.40 as the 6-5 public choice in the $31,500 Open for pacers. … Defending Horse of the Year Test Of Faith made her seasonal debut in a $40,000 Open for pacing fillies and mares, but after swinging four-wide at three-quarters from 10th, settled for a fourth-place finish in the race taken by Amazing Dream N in 1:50.3. … With a carryover of $8,406 to heighten the interest of players, $42,581 in “new money” was poured into the 20-cent Pick-6 pot. Those with six winners on their tickets cashed in for $4,665.08. … Racing resumes Friday at 6:20 p.m.

For complete race results, click here.

By Steve Wolf, for Harnesslink, with files from Dave Little