Meadowlands: Big name winners in Friday's qualifiers

Breeders Crown champions Lady Chaos and Fire Start Hanover were among the winners during Friday morning's qualifiers at the Meadowlands.

Lady Chaos, a 3-year-old daughter of Cantab Hall trained by Linda Toscano and driven by David Miller, led through fractions of 29 2/5, 59, and 1:28 4/5 on her way to a 1:56 4/5 win. She held off Breeders Crown runner-up and pocket-sitter Mazzarati (Tim Tetrick) by a nose, with Jim Doherty Memorial winner Darlene Hanover (Andrew McCarthy) up for third.

Fire Start Hanover, making her first appearance this year, sat in the pocket through panels of 27 2/5, 55 3/5, and 1:24 1/5, then edged by pace-setter Northern Storm (McCarthy) before the finish to score by a neck in 1:52. Dexter Dunn drove the 3-year-old Somebeachsomewhere filly for trainer Nifty Norman.

In other action during the session, the fast and talented but break-prone Beads (Yannick Gingras) went another eye-catching qualifier today for trainer Per Engblom as the 4-year-old son of Archangel clicked off stations of 27 2/5, 55 1/5, and 1:22 4/5, then came home in 27 3/5 to beat stakes winner Ready For Moni (Jimmy Takter) by 5 3/4 lengths in 1:50 2/5.

Andy and Julie Miller had a pair of sophomore trotting fillies take victories by open lengths. First up was maiden Soukup Blue Chip, a daughter of Chapter Seven who cruised to a 4 1/2 length decision in 1:53 1/5 in the opener, and then her stablemate Love Muffin, by Andover Hall, front-stepped her way to a ten length win in 1:53 in race four.

Last year's Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champion in the 2-year-old colt trotting division, Captain Corey (Ake Svanstedt), triumphed in his first appearance of 2021, rallying past Matron winner Type A (Gingras) after sitting third to take the third qualifier in 1:54 1/5. A colt by Googoo Gaagaa, Captain Corey also won the Reynolds at the Meadowlands as a rookie.

Rounding out the morning's winners were 2020 Battle Of Waterloo winner Bettor Sun, a 3-year-old Sunshine Beach colt who prevailed on the point for driver Ernie Hendry and trainer Gregg McNair in 1:54, and former Lismore victor Bestseller Hanover, a 5-year-old Somebeachsomewhere mare who also won on the engine in 1:51 4/5 for driver James MacDonald and trainer Scott Blackler.