Meadowlands: Elims held for Peter Haughton, Jim Doherty Memorials

A big weekend of eliminations at the Meadowlands kicked off on Friday night with 2-year-olds competing in the Peter Haughton Memorial (colts and geldings) and Jim Doherty Memorial (fillies).

In the first Haughton elimination, New Jersey Sire Stakes champion King Of The North (Mark MacDonald) took command past the 29 second opening quarter, then backed down the tempo to 57 3/5 at the half and 1:27 1/5 at three-quarters. There was no chasing down King Of The North after that, as he closed in 29 seconds to win by a length and a quarter in 1:56 1/5. Also moving on the final on Hambletonian Day were Temporal Hanover (Brian Sears), Global Pandemic (Yannick Gingras), B A Superhero (Andrew McCarthy), and Looks Like Moni (Tim Tetrick).

A Walner colt, King Of The North is trained by Ray Schnittker and owned by Schnittker Ward, Arden Homestead Stable, Nolamaura Racing LLC., and Steven Arnold. Schnittker also bred the son of $1.9 million earner Check Me Out (Donato Hanover) with Steve Jones, then Schnittker purchased him for $190,000 at last year's Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. King Of The North has banked $135,000 to go with a perfect record of four-for-four, and he paid $3.60 to win as the 4-5 favorite.

"He's like a professional soldier," said Schnittker. "He got cheap fractions, which is good for next week. He didn't have to do much. He just had to brush for an eighth of a mile. I was a little concerned with the horse in the two-hole because I wanted to win so we can get a better post draw for the final.

"He's a really nice horse. He's like a 5-year-old. Hopefully, he gets the job done next week."

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The second Haughton elimination saw Robertsin (George Brennan) go to the lead from post five, carve out panels of 28, 56 3/5, and 1:25 3/5, and trot home in 29 1/5 to win by three-parts of a length in 1:54 4/5. Letsdoit S (Sears), Classic Hill (Scott Zeron), Fast As The Wind (Dexter Dunn), and S I P (Gingras) secured the remaining spots in the final.

"I liked him right along," said Brennan. "He's been drawing bad posts [post nine in all three career starts heading into Friday], but he got to see the left side of the starter car tonight [post five] and didn't surprise me at all. He trotted home well into the wind. He's awful good. Winning this race so we could draw a good post for the final was definitely on my mind. You're not just looking to qualify for the final and hope you draw well. I think it's a great way to do it."

Robertsin, a colt by Muscle Hill, is trained by Nik Drennan for owners Joe Davino, Brad Shackman, and Drennan Stable LLC. Robertsin has one win and two seconds from four attempts, and he has now put away $22,500. Robertsin, who was bred by Jeff Gural and Moon Goddess LLC. and is out of the Cantab Hall mare Sina, fetched $60,000 at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale and is a brother to Beautiful Sin (1:50 1/5, $406,289). Robertsin returned $4.60 to win as the favorite.

Joviality S (Sears) won the single Doherty elimination from first-over in 1:54 1/5. After being positioned second and third through fractions of 28 3/5, 58, and 1:26 2/5, Joviality S surged into the lead in the lane and drew off to tally by 2 1/4 lengths over Jiggy Jog S (Gingras). The other fillies to advanced to the final, where they will meet bye-taker Venerable, were Valentina Blu (A. McCarthy), Brickhouse Babe (MacDonald), Raised By Lindy (Zeron), Mon Cheval (Dunn), Peyton Hanover (Tetrick), Delilah Hanover (Todd McCarthy), and Pink Gypsy (David Miller).

A daughter of Chapter Seven, Joviality S is trained by Marcus Melander for owner Courant Inc. Courant's AM Bloodstock Inc. bred Joviality S, who is the first foal out of the Muscle Hill mare Pasithea Face S (1:50 4/5, $579,565). Joviality S has a record of 2-1-0 from three appearances, has pocketed $39,433, and paid $7.60 to win as the 5-2 second choice.

--quotes courtesy of the Meadowlands--