Matron Stakes head busy Grand Circuit weekend

Harness Racing This Week: Matron Stakes, Dover Downs, Dover, Del.; Carl Erskine, Monument Circle, Crossroads of America and USS Indianapolis, Hoosier Park, Anderson, Ind.; and Kindergarten Series leg, The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, N.J.

Schedule of Events: The Grand Circuit heads to Dover Downs this Thursday (Nov. 4) for four Matron Stakes for 2-year-olds of both sexes and gaits. The 2-year-old colt trot carries a purse of $179,200, the 2-year-old colt pacers will race for $146,700, the purse for the 2-year-old filly pace is $145,100 and the 2-year-old filly trotters will race for $130,700.

Friday night (Nov. 5), Harrah’s Hoosier Park will host the $220,000 Monument Circle for 3-year-old colt pacers, the $165,000 Carl Erskine for 3-year-old open trotters, the $120,000 USS Indianapolis for 3-year-old filly pacers, and the $105,000 Crossroads of America for 3-year-old filly trotters.

The Meadowlands on Saturday (Nov. 6) will offer the fifth and final leg of the Kindergarten Series for 2-year-olds of both sexes and gaits. There will be two $20,000 races for each of the four freshman classes, separated by sex and gait.

Last Time: On a crisp fall Saturday afternoon (Oct. 30) at The Meadowlands, Perfect Sting became the first male pacer to win Breeders Crown trophies at ages 2 and 3 since Artiscape in 1997-98 when he scored a 1:49.4 victory in the $600,000 Breeders Crown for sophomore male pacers.

Perfect Sting, driven by David Miller, became a two-time Breeders Crown champion after edging clear of pacesetter Charlie May in the final sixteenth of Saturday’s Crown final for 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings. Lisa photo.

Unlike last year, when Perfect Sting capped off an undefeated 2-year-old campaign with a dead-heat triumph in the Breeders Crown final with Summa Cum Laude, the son of Always B Miki had the winner’s circle to himself this time around, which gave a sense of relief to trainer Joe Holloway and the rest of the connections.

“Relief that he finally showed up,” said Holloway, who also won back-to-back Breeders Crown championships at 2 and 3 with Jenna’s Beach Boy in 1994-95. “We’d been consistent all year but hadn’t got the job done. We needed to get a signature win, and this was a pretty good way to do it.”

The Breeders Crown final was billed as a showdown between Perfect Sting and Charlie May after both won their eliminations at The Meadowlands. In the final, the bettors favored Perfect Sting slightly at odds of 6-5 over second choice Charlie May at 8-5.

Off the gate, the Tim Tetrick-driven Chase H Hanover left fastest from post six, with David Miller floating Perfect Sting away from post five and Brett Miller settling Charlie May in third from post two. David Miller sent Perfect Sting to the lead at the :27.3 opening quarter, but Brett Miller sent Charlie May forward as they headed up the backstretch, easily securing command.

Charlie May led by three-quarters in 1:23.4, but Perfect Sting remained close behind. In deep stretch, he was able to surge past his rival to win by a length, pacing his final quarter in :25.4. Chase H Hanover held for third, five lengths behind the winner.

Perfect Sting came into the Breeders Crown final with six wins in 15 starts and earnings of $973,847, the most by any Standardbred in 2021. But he also had eight second-place finishes – all by narrow margins – and that kept the colt from getting his proper accolades, according to Holloway. Prior to the Breeders Crown, Holloway had noted that, because of the plethora of photo-finish losses, Perfect Sting was just “six feet from greatness.”

“He’s been the most consistent and he’s made the most money,” said Holloway. “I realize we lost a few races it looks like we should have won. I just think he’s a great horse and he deserves it today.

“It never gets old, but it’s really special with this horse,” added Holloway, who won his ninth Breeders Crown championship.

Bred and owned by George Segal’s Brittany Farms and Marty Granoff’s Val D’Or Farms, Perfect Sting boosted his 2021 earnings to $1,273,847 and career total to $1,808,147 with the victory.

“The horse always performs; he just put it all together today,” said Segal, whose Brittany Farms leads all owners in Crown history with 21 trophies.

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2021, the Grand Circuit leaders in three categories (driver, trainer and owner) will once again be tracked on a points system (20-10-5 for the top three finishers in divisions/finals and 10-5-2 for the top three finishers in eliminations/legs). Winbak Farms is the sponsor for the 2021 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders (through the races on 10-30-21):

Drivers: 1. Dexter Dunn – 1,229; 2. Yannick Gingras – 1,086; 3. David Miller – 958; 4. Tim Tetrick – 953.5; 5. Andrew McCarthy – 784.5.
Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 1,206; 2. Tony Alagna – 712.5; 3. Ake Svanstedt – 670; 4. Nifty Norman – 620; 5. Nancy Takter – 600.
Owners: 1. Burke Racing Stable – 248.6; 2. Weaver Bruscemi – 216; 3. Crawford Farms Racing – 197.6; 4. Brad Grant – 196.2; 5. Courant Inc. – 194.

Looking Ahead: Grand Circuit action will take place next week at Dover Downs and The Meadowlands. Dover will feature the Matron Stakes for 3-year-olds of both sexes and gaits, while The Meadowlands will host the four Kindergarten Series finals for 2-year-olds of both sexes and gaits.

by Paul Ramlow, for the Grand Circuit