Meadowlands recap: Champagne has no problems in Big M’s Kindergarten

By Dave Little

Jim Doherty Memorial and New Jersey Sire Stakes champion Champagne Problems set herself up well for next week’s Kindergarten Classic final by taking the first of two divisions of the series’ final preliminary for freshmen filly trotters Saturday night at The Meadowlands.

The card saw seven $20,000 divisions of the fifth leg of the Kindergarten for 2-year-olds of each sex and gait as horses raced in an effort to get enough points to qualify for next week, when Saturday’s (Nov. 9) four finals go for total estimated purses of $850,000.

A Nancy Takter trainee, Champagne Problems worked out a four-hole trip to the five-eighths, made up ground gradually while racing on the rim first-over from there, before powering to the top and going on to an easy 3-length victory in 1:54. Myonlylove was second with Sonmar Pond third.

“She’s obviously a really lovely filly, and obviously wasn’t on her game last week [when ninth in the Breeders Crown final] — shame for the connections — but she was back to good form tonight,” said winning driver Dexter Dunn. “She was nice and relaxed and hit the line well.”

A daughter of Tactical Landing-Miss Caviar who is owned by Rojan Stables, Family Business, Patrick J. Hoopes and Caviart Farms, Champagne Problems returned $3.60 to her backers as the 4-5 favorite. She’s now won six of 10 lifetime outings, good for earnings of $378,704.

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A HALF-DOZEN MORE: Here are the other six Kindergarten winners, with division, horse (sire-dam), driver, trainer, winning time and win payout:

• 2-year-old filly trot (Division two): Voguish (Gimpanzee-Jolene Jolene), Todd McCarthy, Andrew Harris, 1:54.4, $2.80 as the 2-5 favorite.
• 2-year-old colt and gelding trot (Division one): Cheers Hanover (Bar Hopping-Chez Lucie), Dave Miller, Ron Burke, 1:55.2, $3.40 as the 3-5 favorite.
• 2-year-old colt and gelding pace (Division one): Papis Pistol (Papi Rob Hanover-Bang Bang), Andy Miller, Sam De Pinto, lifetime best 1:49.3, $5.40 as the 8-5 second choice.
• 2-year-old filly pace (Lone division): Champagne Room (Papi Rob Hanover-See You At Peelers), Andrew McCarthy, Noel Daley, lifetime best 1:51.1, $9.80 as the 7-2 third choice.
• 2-year-old colt and gelding pace (Division two): Seaworthy Hanover (Captaintreacherous-Shortstory Hanover), Dunn, Jake Leamon, lifetime best 1:52, $39.20 as the 18-1 fourth choice.
• 2-year-old colt and gelding trot (Division two): Monserrate (Chapter Seven-Guinevere Hall), Miller, Harris, lifetime best 1:54.2, $7.60 as the 5-2 third choice.

A LITTLE MORE: Scott Zeron led the driver colony with four victories on the card. … There were no winning tickets sold on the 20-cent Pick-6, creating a carryover of $7,689 for Friday’s program. Those with five winning selections cashed in for $76.28. … One shrewd handicapper took down the 20-cent Survivor Pick-7 all by themselves. After a sequence that saw winner’s odds of 2-5, 3-5, 3-2, 8-5, 4-5, 7-2 and 8-1, the lone ticket was exchanged for $6,439.62. … All-source handle on the 14-race card totaled $3,015,599, the 45th time this year from 71 programs that betting busted the $3-million barrier at The Big M. … Racing resumes Friday at 6:20 p.m.

MEADOWLANDS RECAP FOR FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2024

UPTOWN HANOVER WINS BIG M FEATURE

Flexing her considerable back-class muscles, Uptown Hanover moved to the lead down the backstretch on the way to a safe 1-length win in the Friday night feature at The Meadowlands, a mid-range conditioned pace for fillies and mares.

The 6-year-old daughter of Somebeachsomewhere-Upside Surprise, trained by Jeff Cullipher, sat off a blistering opening fraction of :26.4 as another Cullipher student, Fade Out, had the top.

The quick action continued as AVF Claire provided a live tow for the eventual winner, as Uptown Hanover took control passing the half in a snappy :54.2.

Winning driver Todd McCarthy was able to back down the third fraction to :28.2, reaching three-quarters in 1:22.4.

Despite being pressured around the far turn by a resurgent Fade Out, all Uptown Hanover needed was a final quarter of :28.1 to report home an easy winner in a lifetime-best 1:51.

“I had to do a little bit more than I wanted getting around there, but once we got there, she swelled up nice off the turn and she gave me a pretty good kick there in the straightaway,” said McCarthy. “She was good last week [when third to Grand Circuit regular Canigetalouploup], Cullipher’s team’s been doing a great job with them, so they’re always racing good.”

JM Betonsix and Dixie Dream rallied well to finish second and third, respectively.

Owned by Pollack Racing LLC, Uptown Hanover returned $2.60 to win. She now has 29 wins from 126 lifetime outings and earnings of just over $568,000.

A LITTLE MORE: Oakwood Heymiki IR sparkled in his North American debut, winning a high-end conditioned pace in 1:49.2. The invader from Great Britain, driven by Tyler Buter and trained by Robert Cleary, sat off remarkably fast early fractions to come and get the victory from well off the pace. The 4-year-old gelded son of Always B Miki-I Got Rhythm returned $2.40 to win… Braxten Boyd led the driver colony with three winners on the night… All-source handle on the 14-race card totaled $2,756,928… Racing resumes Saturday at 6:20 p.m. with seven divisions of the fifth leg of the Kindergarten Series for 2-y