Meadowlands: Del Miller provides one final stakes test for Hambletonian Oaks

With the Hambletonian Oaks scheduled for three weeks from Saturday, the gloves are beginning to come off and the trainers are sparring for the last time, hoping to have their trotting fillies in perfect condition.

For trainer Marcus Melander, the gloves, in the form of shoes, came off in the last start of Date Night Hanover, and the daughter of Chapter Seven found the winner's circle for the first time this year, capturing the Zweig filly division at Vernon in a career-best 1:51 4/5 on July 4.

Date Night Hanover faces eight fillies, including a few with exceptional talent, in one of two $125,000 divisions of the Del Miller Memorial at the Meadowlands on the stakes-filled Saturday night (July 13) program.

"I was very happy with the way she's come back in the first few races," said Melander of Date Night Hanover. "She qualified well and finished well in those first two starts. She was OK in the Empire Breeders and then got jammed up in her next race at Yonkers."

For Melander, there was still an enormous résumé to build upon with Date Night Hanover, a $600,000 purchase at Harrisburg in 2022 that enjoyed a solid season as a 2-year-old.

"She raced well last year, winning the Kentucky championship at The Red Mile," said Melander, "but then she got sick, along with a lot of the rest of the stable, and didn't come back strongly after that."

As far as Date Night Hanover's recent equipment change and the difference it made, Melander has been plotting shoe removal for some time.

"I wanted to be prepared to take the shoes off under the right conditions for the Oaks," said Melander. "I thought about doing it at the Meadowlands but was concerned the surface might be too hard. The conditions at Vernon were perfect and after she warmed up, I decided to pull them before the Zweig."

Date Night Hanover responded to the newfound freedom and went on the offensive first-over for Dexter Dunn, overpowering her rivals and drawing clear with a 27 1/5 final quarter and a personal-best clocking. Among the fillies she defeated was last year's Breeders Crown champion Warrawee Michelle, who couldn't match strides with her on the backstretch or to the finish.

Saturday's second Miller division (race 13) not only finds Date Night Hanover on the outside of the field but sees her facing perhaps the best collection of quality horses all year. Trainer Noel Daley has had high praise for Buy A Round and following her victory in the Reynolds (June 29) at the Meadowlands, it's pretty easy to see why.

"There's three horses in my stable that I wouldn't trade for any others," said Daley, referring to Meadowlands Pace finalist Captain Albano, a 2-year-old filly and Buy A Round. "Look at how she raced after 42 days off."

Visual proof was on display in a major way, with Buy A Round's quick turn of foot disposing of favored Honey's Sweet on the backstretch and her finishing off the mile on cruise control. A winner in six of nine starts as a freshman, the homebred Buy A Round won for the second time in three starts this year, with Daley's filly looking better with each start. Buy A Round drew post seven, and that could be an obstacle for a filly that seems at her best when finishing miles.

The New Jersey-sired Allegiant (post three) has taken her act on the road recently with Grand Circuit victories in the Currier & Ives (June 7) and Moni Maker (July 6) to her credit. A daughter of Tactical Landing, Allegiant returns to the mile track with confidence and a solid draw, with post three for trainer Vernon Beachy in this division.

Honey's Sweet, one of four fillies in the field sired by Chapter Seven, drew post two as she looks to rebound for trainer Tony Alagna. A winner of the Empire Breeders Classic on June 14 at Vernon, Honey's Sweet has shown the talent to upset.

Trainer Ake Svanstedt is never in short supply for the sport's major 3-year-old contests and his Senorita Palema (post one) and Slip Sliding Away (post six) could be ready to rise to the occasion as the competition becomes more meaningful. Senorita Palema overcame post eight in a runner-up spot to Date Night Hanover in the Zweig and now has post advantage over her main rivals.

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Svanstedt has a pair in the first Miller division (race four), with New Jersey Sire Stakes champion French Champagne (post six) meeting eight rivals, among them Svanstedt's Warrawee Michelle (post eight), making just her second start as a sophomore.

French Champagne took a lifetime-best 1:52 1/5 mark in capturing the New Jersey Sire Stakes final in May over the Meadowlands surface. The Muscle Hill-sired homebred has won seven of her 13 career starts.

Warrawee Michelle could have been short entering the Zweig at Vernon on July 4, considering she had only qualified once and that came nearly a month earlier at the Meadowlands. The Walner-sired filly is likely to be more assertive in her second sophomore start.

Soiree Hanover (post nine) won six of her 10 starts as a freshman and was just a head behind Warrawee Michelle in the Breeders Crown final. Soiree Hanover wasn't ready to trot home in 26 seconds in her first start, finishing off-the-board for just the second time in her career in the Reynolds on June 29.

Chaparmbro has yet to win in five starts this year, but this exceptionally well-bred daughter of Chapter Seven showed speed and staying power while timed in 1:51 in an overnight race at the Meadowlands on July 6 and could be primed for a major effort for trainer Trond Smedshammer from post three.

The Del Miller divisions go as races four and 13 on the 14-race card. Post time is 6:20 P.M. (EDT).