Top filly trotters to battle in $479,450 Goldsmith Maid

The two richest 2-year-old trotters of the season, Venerable and Joviality S, will meet for only the second time this year when they compete in Saturday’s $479,450 Goldsmith Maid Stakes for freshman female harness racing trotters at The Meadowlands.

Their previous encounter was Aug. 7 at the Big M in the Jim Doherty Memorial, won by Venerable in a stakes-record 1:52. Joviality S finished fourth after being a parked-out first in a brisk :55 half. In their remaining 19 combined races, neither Joviality S nor Venerable has seen a half quicker than :56.1.

For the year, Venerable has won nine of 10 races and $927,295. Her triumphs in addition to the Doherty include the Mohawk Million, Peaceful Way Stakes, Matron Stakes, and New Jersey Sire Stakes championship. Her only loss came when she went off stride in her Breeders Crown elimination last month.

Joviality S, who has finished no worse than second in 10 of 11 races, winning eight, heads to the Goldsmith Maid off a victory from post 10 in the Breeders Crown final. Her other wins include the Kentuckiana Stallion Management Stakes, a division of the International Stallion Stakes, and the New York Sire Stakes championship. She has earned $669,998.

“She’s been good all year, from day one when we (qualified) her,” trainer Marcus Melander said about Joviality S, a daughter of Chapter Seven-Pasithea Face S owned by Anders Strom’s Courant Inc. and bred by Strom’s AM Bloodstock. “It’s been a long season for her, but she came out of the Breeders Crown very good, and we decided that we were going to go for this race.”

Joviality S enjoyed a five-race win streak following the Doherty. It ended with a second-place finish to Raised By Lindy in her Breeders Crown elimination. Raised By Lindy was the 6-5 favorite in the final, but Joviality S and driver Brian Sears caught her at the wire to win by a nose on a rainy and windy night at The Meadowlands.

“I thought I had as good a filly as anyone, we just had a very bad post,” Melander said. “She overcame it. It was a very good performance.”

Venerable rebounded from her miscue in her Breeders Crown elimination by winning the Matron by nearly seven lengths on Nov. 4 at Dover Downs. She is ranked No. 6 among all horses in North America in the current Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll.

“It’s a shame she did that in the Breeders Crown, but she seems in great shape now,” trainer Richard “Nifty” Norman said about Venerable, a daughter of Walner-Jolene Jolene owned by David McDuffee, Mel Hartman, Paul Bordogna, and Steven Arnold. “She bounced back, and she’s been acting really good.”

Venerable and driver David Miller will start Saturday from post seven in a field of 11. She is the even-money morning-line favorite. Joviality S will leave from post four and is the 5-1 third choice behind Kindergarten Classic Series champ Misswalner Fashion, who is 4-1 for driver Tim Tetrick and trainer Jim Campbell.

“Venerable is definitely going to be the horse to beat, but I’m confident in my horse and I think she will race great,” Melander said. “We have a good post this time and hopefully Brian can work out a really good trip for her.”

The Goldsmith Maid is one of the Fall Four for 2-year-olds Saturday at The Meadowlands. The card also includes TVG Series finals for pacers and trotters. Following is a brief look at the remainder of those stakes races.

$413,600 Valley Victory: (2-year-old male trotters): Sickness disrupted Fast As The Wind’s season, which opened with back-to-back wins and, if victorious in the Valley Victory, will end with three consecutive wins. Fast As The Wind, the Kindergarten Classic Series champ and Breeders Crown runner-up, is the 8-5 morning-line favorite in a field that also includes Matron winner Threepointbluechip.

$175,000 TVG Mare Pace: Lyons Sentinel, ranked No. 5 in the sport’s Top 10, will look to snap a three-race slide and is the 3-1 morning-line favorite. She is the richest pacing mare of the season with $683,233 and enjoyed a seven-race win streak that included six Grand Circuit victories from July into October. Breeders Crown winner Rocknificent is 7-2.

$175,000 TVG Mare Trot: Atlanta, ranked No. 10 in the sport’s Top 10, became the sixth female trotter in history with at least $3 million in earnings when she finished second in the Breeders Crown. She is the 2-1 morning-line favorite and will try to increase her bankroll against a group that includes Crown champ Felicityshagwell S, multiple Grand Circuit winner When Dovescry, and invited 3-year-old Hambletonian Oaks and Breeders Crown winner Bella Bellini, who is fourth in the Top 10.

$386,600 Governor’s Cup: (2-year-old male pacers): Hammering Hank is the 9-5 morning-line choice off his win in last week’s Kindergarten final. The field also features Matron winner Market Based and multiple Grand Circuit winner Early Action.

$350,000 TVG Open Trot: Caesars Trotting Classic winner Forbidden Trade is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in a group that includes Dan Patch Award winner Amigo Volo and Dayton Trotting Derby winner and Breeders Crown runner-up Back Of The Neck.

$359,450 Three Diamonds: (2-year-old female pacers): Breeders Crown champion Niki Hill, who has eight wins and a second in nine starts this year, is the even-money morning-line pick. She is ranked No. 3 in the sport’s Top 10. Treacherous Dragon, second to Niki Hill in the Kindergarten final and third in the Breeders Crown, is the 4-1 second choice.

$350,000 TVG Open Pace: Allywag Hanover, who was third by a neck in the Breeders Crown and second in the Potomac Pace in his most recent starts, is the 5-2 morning-line favorite. He is ranked No. 7 in the Top 10 and counts five Grand Circuit scores among his nine victories this season. He is followed on the morning line by Potomac winner Enavant and Breeders Crown champ Ocean Rock in a deep field that features a total of seven Grand Circuit winners in 2021.

For complete entries for the Saturday program at The Meadowlands, click here<racing.ustrotting.com/goto.aspx?target=12,81336>.