Making the grade in this weekend’s key sophomore trotting races

by Brett Sturman

Between tonight (June 27) and Saturday, 3-year-old trotting events for both the colts and fillies held at The Meadowlands and at Yonkers could have direct implications for this year’s Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks, already just a few short weeks away. Though, the races between the tracks look very different, and in the process of comparing the contenders for those races, it illustrates as an aside where enhancements can be made to the new stakes grading system.

Beginning with the 3-year-old colts and geldings at Yonkers, this year’s Yonkers Trot drew just a field of five horses as a $300,000 Grade 2 race. Though disheartening to see a race that has the history of the Yonkers Trot dwindled to such a small field, this one is not without quality. All five horses are Hambletonian eligible, and one of those horses, Super Chapter, is #1 on many Hambletonian lists right now.

Super Chapter, who starred last year at The Red Mile, was a Breeders Crown contender and runner-up in the Valley Victory at 2. He became the second faster trotter this year when going a 1:50.4 mile while winning his Empire Breeders Classic division at Vernon last out. In doing so, he bested last year’s divisional champion Maryland, who in fairness was making his first start of the season.

Having drawn the rail in the small field, Super Chapter will be able to control the race by however fast or slow he wants, like the EBC race. Grade 3 Dexter Cup winner Hard Seven was third to Super Chapter last out at Vernon beaten almost by five widening lengths in the end and has drawn the outside post. He is capable of speed just like he showed in the Dexter Cup, but is also prone to breaking which could make things even trickier on the half-mile track. The other two horses you could make a case for are Chat Room and Grade 3 Bunker Hill champ Variegated, who ran 1-2 in the other EBC division at Vernon two weeks ago. In that race, Chat Room, dismissed at 12-1 off a 1:52.3 Meadowlands win in his prior outing, led, yielded and later went past Variegated in the stretch to score an upset win in another 1:52.3 mile.

Thanks to a high-calibre group led by Super Chapter, and with many legitimate star quality Yonkers Trot winners over the years, the graded status of the race seems fair enough. But where it gets interesting is when comparing the dynamics of that race to the divisions of the Reynolds stakes at The Meadowlands, which are ungraded.

Graded or not, these races could have massive Hambletonian implications. Of the 21 horses racing across two divisions (one of the divisions has 11 horses), 18 of those are Hambletonian eligible.

The first division is led by Go Dog Go, who probably ranks mid pack on most Hambletonian lists though he could be further elevated in short order. Third in last year’s Breeders Crown and in the Valley Victory, he set the tone for his sophomore campaign when dominating Pennsylvania Sire Stakes (PASS) foes at Pocono three weeks ago when making his first start of the season. In that same race is a (for now) lesser-known Hambletonian-eligible horse named Mr Mouton who only raced a single time at 2 last July — a New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) race he won — and then resurfaced a couple weeks ago at The Meadowlands where he came on impressively to just miss in 1:53.2. He too could become a major factor on the Hambletonian trail.

The second Reynolds division features Gap Kronos S and Nordic Catcher S, two more from Ake Svanstedt, who also conditions Mr Mouton. Gap Kronos S, who was a dual stakes winner last year at Lexington, raced well first-over most recently in the Goodtimes final at Mohawk to top Hambletonian prospect Emotion Legacy. That race went in 1:50.2 – the fastest mile all year for the division and the only one thus far faster than Super Chapter’s EBC win. Rival Nordic Catcher S who was last year’s New Jersey Sire Stakes (NJSS) champion and second to Maryland in that year’s William Wellwood final, scored an impressive post 9 win during his seasonal debut last out winning in 1:53.2; besting a few Hambletonian contenders in the process.

The purse of the Reynolds stakes when split into the two divisions is only $34,325, but you could argue there’s greater significance in winning this race than at Yonkers. I hope I’m not showing Meadowlands elitism, but you could take it a step further and say that almost any stakes race at The Meadowlands between May and August should carry a graded stakes designation. These are races where horses can prove themselves on the mile track, in fast times against high quality competition in full fields, where, if successful, can have direct breeding value implications too.

It’s a similar story with the trotting fillies. At Yonkers tonight (June 27) there is a stake split into two $50,000 divisions named the NY NY Mile, which carries a Grade 3 status. Outside of Monalishi in the second division, who last year proved herself to be a top filly, the rest of fields resemble what you’d see in a moderate level sire stakes race. By that characterization it is a group of fillies with stakes potential and talent, but how does it compare to the fillies racing in the ungraded Reynolds stakes the next night across the river?

Those races contain in one division last year’s divisional award winner Champagne Problems, along with Kentucky Sire Stakes (KYSS) champion and $300,000 earner Yo Tillie. The second division contains last year’s Breeders Crown finalists Kadena and Delaney Hanover, as well as the likes of top prospect R Dutchess, daughter of Atlanta and $160,000 earner Deja Blu, and freshly crowned NJSS champion, Conversano. You can just look at it and know that the races take on more meaning than simply the smaller purses they offer.

Graded semantics aside, races from both tracks this weekend could have an impact not only on the Hambletonian and Oaks trails, but how these divisions start to play out over the course of the season.