In Range was one of the top trotting male freshmen last year, and the Hambletonian eligible was looking to kick off a huge sophomore campaign in Saturday’s $150,507 Pennsylvania Sires Stake at The Meadows. But midway down the backside, he was passed by local favourite Jujubee. How would he respond?
Quite nicely, thank you. In Range overtook Jujubee in mid-stretch and scored in 1:52.3, matching the stake record established by Valley Of Sin in 2013.
The stake, known as the Hickory Smoke, was contested over three divisions, with Whiskey Blu and Johan Palema taking the other splits.
Marcus Melander, who trains In Range for AMG Stable, Kenneth Kjellgren, Tomas Ansell and Rick Wahlstedt, said he wasn’t overly concerned when the son of Bar Hopping-Ilia yielded the lead to the local upstart.
A number of high-profile Standardbreds made solid strides toward a return to the races during the Saturday (April 24) session of qualifiers at The Meadowlands.
Calle Palema (Ake Svanstedt) was a wire-to-wire winner in 1:56.1 over 2020 freshman standouts Zenith Stride (Brian Sears) and In Range (Tim Tetrick). The gelded son of Muscle Hill - Fillyanthropy, a three-time winner as a rookie, took a new lifetime mark for owner Bender Sweden Inc. of Vero Beach, Fl.
Balenciaga didn t make any starts at two, but the $270,000 yearling started on the path to justifying that price tag with a first-over grinding win in 1:56.3. The son of Chapter Seven - Iluvmyjimmychoos was guided to victory by Scott Zeron for trainer Paul Kelley and owners SRF Stable and Crawford Farms. Maverick, harness racing s highest priced yearling by virtue of his $1.1 million sale price, made a break in stride while closing in the stretch.