Perfect Sting, the top-ranked horse in the Trot Magazine Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book, took another strong step toward his sophomore season with a 1:52.3 qualifying win on Friday (April 30) at The Meadowlands. After a decisive, pillar-to-post 1:52.2 effort off the shelf last Saturday, David Miller opted to race Perfect Sting from the pocket in his second qualifier, yielding to Pirate Hanover (Andy McCarthy) through a tepid :57.3 half. The son of champions Always B Miki and Shebestingin made his move at the end of a :27 third split, headed Pirate Hanover at the eighth pole, and won going away by 1-3/4 lengths for trainer Joe Holloway and the partnership of Brittany Farms and Val D'Or Farms.