Meadowlands: The Bank upsets in Dancer Memorial

In the waning seconds of daylight at The Meadowlands, The Bank (Jimmy Takter) won the second of two Stanley Dancer Memorial races for three year-old trotters by a length in a time of 1:50 4/5 at The Meadowlands, taking the winner’s share of the $159,750 purse. The Bank is eligible to the August 8 Hambletonian, as were all the starters except fifth place finisher Crazy Wow.

The Bank is owned by Christina Takter and Goran Falk.

Donatomite (Trond Smedshammer) was first to the lead off the gate and got to the quarter in :26 3/5 before The Bank and Takter trotted past them to the lead and held it to the :54 2/5 half. Past the 1:22 3/5 three quarters, Crazy Wow and Brian Sears, the only colt not eligible to the Hambletonian, ranged up on the outside to briefly get a nose in front of The Bank, but by the time the field was in the homestretch, that one was repelled and Takter was looking over his right shoulder for more comers.

Centurion ATM (Ake Svanstedt), who made a break just before the half, circled the field on the outside to trot strongly down the lane and finish second. French Laundry (Brett Miller) was third and Donotomite was fourth, with Crazy Wow fifth. Whom Shall I Fear, the $475,000 yearling purchase in 2013 and brother of Father Patrick, was sixth.

Takter said, “I’m especially really happy because the horse is owned by a very good friend of mine in Sweden, Goran Falk, he’s sitting and watching this. We had so much fun with (this colt’s mother) Lantern Kronos. I drove most of her races as a three-year-old. This is a nice colt and it took a little while for him to start winning (tonight was his fourth win in 17 starts). This was a hard race, hard opening and he still held on very well.”

Takter also said after the race that he’s considering racing at least some or both his Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks horses in the Zweig Memorial on July 26.

Pinkman (Yannick Gingras) won the first of two divisions of the Stanley Dancer Memorial for three year-old trotting colts with a purse of $157,250 at The Meadowlands on Saturday in 1:52 2/5.

Habitat (Brian Sears) was second and Canepa Hanover (Jimmy Takter) was third in the prep for the August 8 Hambletonian.

Pinkman is owned by Christina Takter, John and Jim Fielding, Joyce McClelland and Herb Liverman and trained by Jimmy Takter.

Habitat (Brian Sears) left the gate with authority, quickly crossing over to the rail and commanding the lead to the :27 4/5 quarter. Just past that marker, Pinkman was out to challenge and go by the leader. He trotted on to the :57 half and 1:25 2/5 three quarters and the field went with him, until they started for the homestretch, when Canepa Hanover and Takter were up to challenge on the outside and Habitat tried to scoot up the rail to his left.

Despite pressure all the way down the stretch, when the wire came up, Pinkman had held for the win by a head and Habitat made up enough ground on the inside for the place. Canepa Hanover was third on the outside.

“All three of them (the top finishers) are top colts, but I got everything my way and my colt was really strong,” said Gingras. “I had to play with him a little bit in the stretch, make him do his job but he had so much more. It’s a great card and I’ve got great horses to drive.”

-Ellen Harvey, Harness Racing Communications

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