Dover: Gingras sweeps Matrons for 2-year-old trotters

Yannick Gingras guided Kimmeridgian and Brunella to front-stepping wins in the Matron Stakes for 2-year-old trotters on Thursday afternoon at Bally's Dover Casino Resort.

The colts and geldings raced in a $122,600 non-wagering event, and Kimmeridgian showed the way through fractions of 28 2/5, 58 3/5, and 1:27 1/5 on his way to a 1:54 3/5 victory. He defeated Crown (Brian Sears) by two lengths, with Father Stosh (David Miller) and Bar Keep De Vie (Steve Smith) rounding out the order.

"He felt actually really strong. I didn't really care if I was going to get away first or second, but I didn't want to be third and have to be first-up or something like that," said Gingras. "I pushed out of the gate, and we got easy fractions, but he felt really strong.

"He's really good right now. I thought [in his last two races] he could have done a little bit better. I think it's about getting it out of him. He's got the ability, it's about trying to get the most out of him. Today he gave us his best."

A Walner colt, Kimmeridgian is trained by Ake Svanstedt for Knutsson Trotting Inc. and Young Guns. Bred by Svanstedt, Knutsson Trotting, and Little E LLC., Kimmeridgian went through the 2021 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale and brought $140,000. He broke his maiden in his eighth try, and he has now banked $119,297.

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The filly trot was pretty much a carbon copy of the colt and gelding event as Gingras went to the top from post one with Brunella, chopped out panels of 29 2/5, 58 3/5, and 1:26 4/5, then used a 28 second final quarter to fend off pocket-sitter Quick Stop (Tim Tetrick) by a neck in 1:54 4/5. Knickknack Hanover (Smith), Canterbury Hanover (Sears), and Ruth Honig (Dexter Dunn) completed the field.

"Mine, she's a little quirky sometimes," stated Gingras. "She got out of there good, so I figured I'd just let her do her thing.

"She buzzed the third quarter, not me. She decided it was time to go. I was trying to go slow as I could really, but 28 1/5 is what she wanted to do."

Nancy Takter trains Brunella, a Father Patrick filly who is a homebred for Christina Takter and Goran Falk. Brunella has compiled a record of 3-2-0 from seven appearances, pushed her bankroll to $134,193, and returned $21.60 to win as the 3-2 second choice.

"She's a really nice filly actually. She's a little anxious and a little wound up once in a while, so we've kind to got to space her races out a little bit so she can settle down between them," remarked Nancy Takter. "She's got a bright future ahead of her if she learns to mind her manners like she did today."