Dancer Memorial loaded with Hambo horses

Lexington, KY — Thirteen 3-year-old male harness racing trotters have been divided into a pair of divisions in Saturday night’s (July 17) $273,500 Stanley Dancer Memorial Trot at The Meadowlands, with a dozen eligible to the upcoming Hambletonian, which has eliminations on Aug. 1 and the $1 million final on Aug. 8.

The Dancer is one of several stakes on a star-studded program that is highlighted by the $700,000 Meadowlands Pace. More information on the entire card can be found here.

The baker’s dozen going to post in the two Dancer splits does not include recent Yonkers Trot champion Johan Palema, who was not eligible and was entered instead by trainer Ake Svanstedt into an overnight that will be contested on Friday night (July 16) at the Big M.

Yannick Gingras drove Johan Palema to his gate-to-wire victory in the Yonkers Trot, and in the Dancer divisions he will guide for the first time the Svanstedt-trained Captain Corey from post two in the $138,000 second split (race 11).

Captain Corey returned in 2021 with a PASS victory on May 31 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun

Pocono, but then the colt made a break at the start of a PASS event on June 23 at Harrah’s Philadelphia. Captain Corey then romped to an 8-1/2 length, career-best 1:53 win in a July 10 qualifier at The Meadowlands.

“We’ll see how he is this week,” said Gingras. “We talked a little bit about (me driving Captain Corey) last year because Ake had a couple nice ones, but it just never worked out. Ake asked me this week if I would go with him in this race. We’ll go one race at a time, but I’m definitely really excited about driving him.

“He hasn’t raced in almost a month now because he made a break and then had a qualifier, so I don’t think he’s primed and ready to rock and roll, probably, but I’ll try and trip him out and see what happens,” he added about the colt owned by S R F Stable, Knutsson Trotting, Midnight Sun Partners and Ake Svanstedt Inc.

Starting immediately to Gingras and Captain Corey’s right on the gate in post three is the reigning Dan Patch divisional champ Venerate, who made a break in the last turn in his sophomore debut in a June 26 overnight against older horses at The Meadowlands. Venerate shrugged that off quickly as he rebounded in a big way with a 1:52.1 win over a “sloppy” track in the Reynolds at the Big M on July 10.

“In his first start it was just one of those things where he got a little mixed up and made a break, but he bounced back pretty strong,” said Andy Miller, who drives the Love You colt he shares ownership of with Pinske Stables. “He raced super last week and I was real happy with him.”

In his Reynolds score, Venerate started from post nine and was parked the entire mile. Still, he had enough left to trot a final quarter of :26.3 to get the half-length victory over Sonofamistery, who made a break nearing the wire but appeared to be beaten anyways.

“It was a big trip and he was out a long ways, but he kept on marching,” said Miller of the Julie Miller-trained colt. “Hopefully he doesn’t have to go parked the whole mile again, but I think he’s headed in the right direction.

“I’m sure he’ll be out part of the mile but hopefully not the whole mile,” he added with a laugh.

Also in that Dancer division is On A Streak, who is owned by Serge Godin’s Determination and trained by Luc Blais, the same connections who won the 2019 Hambletonian with Forbidden Trade. Starting from post four with driver Daniel Dube, the son of Cantab Hall won just twice last year in 10 starts, but they came in the $600,000 Breeders Crown final at Harrah’s Hoosier Park and the $406,600 William Wellwood Memorial at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

This year, On A Streak has already equaled his win output of 2020 in just five starts, those coming in a Pennsylvania Stallion event at Pocono and an overnight at Yonkers. After finishing fourth in his Yonkers Trot elimination, On A Streak finished sixth in the final after making an early break on the “sloppy” track.

“He never made a break before and something happened, and it was a good thing he didn’t hurt himself,” noted Blais, who uprooted most of his Ontario-based stable this year due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and found a home at White Birch Farm in New Jersey. “I trained him (Wednesday) morning and he was good. I just don’t know what happened last time, maybe he just took a bad step. He’s sound and I think he will be all right this weekend. He’s in a tough division but it’s a good test to see where we are.”

That same division also includes Cuatro De Julio, whose 1:51.3 victory last year at The Red Mile was the second fastest by a freshman trotter. A nine-time winner in 14 starts last year, Cuatro De Julio has a win and two seconds in three New Jersey Sires Stakes contests this year, with one of those seconds coming in the $200,000 final. Following that race, Cuatro De Julio coasted to an open-lengths qualifier win on June 30 at The Red Mile.

Known for his high speed but also being a bit high strung, Cuatro De Julio will see an equipment change as Marie Ortolan Bar, who trains the son of Trixton for owner D Farm, said she will be adding ear plugs. Adding the ear plugs while training has helped Cuatro De Julio. “For the first time he is super quiet,” said the conditioner. Lucas Wallin will drive Cuatro De Julio from post five.

As if that division isn’t strong enough on paper, the field also includes the aforementioned Sonofamistery, with the son of Muscle Hill starting from the outside post seven. The late miscue in the Reynolds was the second consecutive start Sonofamistery suffered the same fate, but on June 25 in a Big M overnight, it cost him a win as he was first across the wire but disqualified to second. Prior to that he won a 3-year-old open at The Meadowlands in 1:51.2, the fastest mile by a sophomore colt trotter thus far in 2021.

“He’s a nice horse, a fast horse, but we still have some problems with him as he’s made two breaks right at the wire,” Melander said of the colt owned by S R F Stable and Holly Lane Stud East Ltd. “He’s running down a little bit on us and I’ll change some of his shoeing. If he stays flat all the way to the wire, he’s a contender. He’s a very fast horse and as good as anyone else. Hopefully we can figure him out and he’ll be a contender.”

That division also includes from post six the Andy McCarthy-driven, Mark Harder-trained Zenith Stride, who sprung an 87-1 upset in last year’s $319,000 Peter Haughton Memorial at The Meadowlands.

Dancinginthedark M won three of seven starts last year, and he cruised to victories in his first two attempts this year. His third start in a June 26 overnight at The Meadowlands didn’t go as well as he made a break behind the gate when starting from the outside post 10.

“It was no fun when he made the break but I wasn’t worried,” admitted Melander. “He had some bad habits last year when he got too grabby, but I wasn’t worried at all that night.”

Melander’s faith was justified in the second Reynolds division on July 10 when his pupil brushed to the front past the opening quarter and never looked back en route to a 1:51.4 score over the “sloppy” surface.

“That was a hell of a mile, especially with the weather,” said Melander.

For Saturday’s complete Meadowlands entries, click here.

The Big M and TrackMaster have teamed to regularly provide free past performances for each race card. Past performances can be found here on The Meadowlands website.

by Gordon Waterstone, for the USTA