Nandolo N returns to Big M for big win

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – It shouldn’t have come as a shock after Nandolo N won the featured $45,000 Open2/Open 1 Handicap for pacers Saturday night at The Meadowlands. After all, he’d been down this road before.

It was on the first of two Sunday afternoon programs conducted this year at The Big M when Nandolo N won the feature in his last appearance at the mile oval, stopping the clock in an eye-popping 1:48.3 on Jan. 22, which remains the fastest mile of the year in the sport.

Driver Jason Bartlett kept Nandolo N in contention that day and did so again Saturday to give the 9-year-old his third win from five starts this year.

“My horse is real quirky,” said Bartlett. “Nine times out of 10, I don’t leave with him, but he dragged me out of there and it worked out.”

Nandolo N did leave quickly – against his driver’s wishes – and set up shop in the pocket behind 20-1 longshot Grand Cayman, who cut out fractions of :27, :54.1 and 1:21.4. While Nandolo N was in an ideal spot, 3-5 favorite Jimmy Freight was going a nightmare 10-hole trip, never seeing the rail before getting into a fourth-over flow down the backside.

Through the stretch, Nandolo N burst out of the pocket to go after the leader and did not collar a stubborn Grand Cayman until they were inside the sixteenth pole. Nandolo N won it by three-quarters-of-a-length, Grand Cayman was second with an airborne-through-the-stretch Jimmy Freight getting up for third. The time for the mile was 1:49.4.

“(Winning trainer) Shane (Tritton) always has his horses ready to race,” said Bartlett. “At the top of the lane I was confident. My horse doesn’t do anything fancy, never wins by more than one or two lengths. I was just worried where Jimmy (Freight) was.”

Nandolo N, a gelded son of Betterthancheddar-Midnight In Paris who is owned by Stephen Klunowski, paid $12.40 to win as the 5-1 second choice in the betting. He now has 25 wins from 94 lifetime starts and a bankroll that stands at $584,410.

BACK-TO-BACK $4 MILLION NIGHTS: After wagering reached an industry 2023-best $4.5 million on the Friday night card, betting remained robust on Saturday as $4,062,855 was put in play on the 14-race program.

The weekend total of $8.5 million is noteworthy since only twice since the start of 2021 had the $8-million weekend barrier been busted, and those were both Hambletonian weekends.

Betting has now gone past the $3-million mark on all 17 Friday and Saturday night programs during 2023. A year ago, the $3-million plateau was reached 23 times over an 85-program schedule.

A LITTLE MORE: A double carryover of $45,254 enticed players to bet $118,217 in “new money” into the 20-cent Pick-6 pool, for a grand total of $163,471. Those with winning tickets cashed in for a handsome $6,411.52 after winner’s odds during the sequence were 7-2, 2-1, 5-1, 8-1, 9-2 and 3-1. … The sharp Rich And Miserable made it three wins in five starts this year in the $31,500 Open 1 Handicap for trotters. Dave Miller drove the 9-5 second choice for trainer Todd Buter. The time for the mile was 1:52.4. … Bartlett and Yannick Gingras led the driver colony with three winners apiece. … Edwin Quevedo, Tritton and Ron Burke all trained a pair to victory lane. … Racing resumes Friday at 6:20 p.m.

For complete race results, click here.

by Dave Little, for The Meadowlands