Shane Tritton trainee grinds it out in Big M Open

It takes a tough harness racing horse to be able to come first-over in the Open Pace and grind it out and still have some pace left to win with and that was the case in the Meadowlands $31,500 Open-Handicap Pace Saturday night (June 18).

The 10^th race feature saw Da Delightful and driver Andy Miller leave from post five and grab the early lead with race favorite Bettors Donttell (Corey Callahan) taking the two-hole spot to the first quarter mile in :28.

Miller then came right out with Da Delightful and shot to the front, leading the field to the half mile in :55.4. It was then that Nandolo N and driver Jason Bartlett came first-over with Im Sire Blake A (Marcus Miller) following second-over.

Nadolo N inched their way towards the front as Bettors Donttell continued to lead the way past the three-quarters in 1:24.

As they started down the stretch, Bettors Donttell held fast to his lead but beared off the rail enough that Miller was able to send Da Delightful in the gap and nearly collared Bettors Donttell, but showing true grit was Nandolo N and Bartlett .and they kept coming on to win by a neck in 1:50.4, last quarter mile in :26.4. Bettors Donttell was second with Da Delightful third.

NANDOLO N REPLAY

It was the third win this year for Nandolo N. The New Zealand import is an eight-year-old gelding, who is trained by Shane Tritton for Team Tritton, Inc. of Pinebush, NY and paid $9.20 to win.

WARKENTIN THE MASTER: On the strength of a $356 score after hitting a $71.20 exacta five times in the eighth race, Ken Warkentin was the winner on Night 6 of the Meadowlands Battle of the Masterminds handicapping contest, finishing with a mythical bankroll of $514.

On-track patrons who select the winning handicapper on a given night are eligible for a nightly prize of a $200 betting voucher and a $50 gas card. The winner of that drawing is then eligible for the grand prize of $10,000.

Warkentin, Dave Brower, Dave Little, Jessica Otten and Edison Hatter will go at it every night through August 5. The grand prize winner will be chosen on Hambletonian Day, August 6.

A LITTLE MORE: One shrewd player held the only winning ticket in the 20-cent Survivor Pick-7 and walked away with $8,524. Other than one 22-1 longshot, no other horse during the sequence went off at odds greater than 5-1. … Ron Burke was on fire, training four winners on the program. … Joe Bongiorno had a driving triple. … All-source handle totaled $2,528,515. … Racing resumes Friday at 6:20 p.m.

For complete race results, click here.

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