Meadowlands: Gimpanzee closes strongly, gets up in Cashman Memorial

Gimpanzee showed up when it counted and gamely overtook Lindy The Great to capture the $291,350 John Cashman Memorial for open trotters at the Meadowlands on Saturday. The 4-year-old son of Chapter Seven rallied off a third-over trip to equal the stakes record of 1:50 for winning driver Brian Sears.

Gimpanzee settled near the back of the pack in the early stages as Guardian Angel AS and driver Tim Tetrick took charge in a 26 3/5 opening quarter, ahead of Marseille, with Lindy The Great tucking in the third spot. After Guardian Angel AS secured the top spot, Yannick Gingras moved Atlanta out of fourth and sprinted to the front. The 2018 Hambletonian winner had the half in 54 1/5 but was unable to shut down the pace as Andy Miller went on the offensive past the half with Lindy The Great, who was followed in the outer tier by Crystal Fashion, with Gimpanzee and Sears a tight third-over in the progression.

Atlanta held the top at three-quarters in 1:22 1/5 but was under a strong attack by Lindy The Great. Tim Tetrick was looking for room along the inside with Guardian Angel AS and would eventually make a break in mid-stretch. Lindy The Great and Miller overtook Atlanta in the late stages, but Sears and Gimpanzee were relentless in their pursuit and needed every inch of the homesretch to secure the victory.

The clocking was a career-best for Gimpanzee, who has now won all five of his starts in 2020 for trainer Marcus Melander and owners Courant Inc. and S R F Stable. Sent off as the 3-5 betting choice, Gimpanzee returned $3.20 with the win. Lindy The Great finished second, with Soul Strong rallying strongly between rivals late for the show spot.

"He's just an amazing horse," said Melander in the winner's circle. "Brian worked out a really good trip, and he finished strong."

Melander added that Gimpanzee will be back in action next Sunday in the Crawford Farms Trot at Tioga Downs.

"I just didn't see the cover moving," said Sears following the race, but it got Gimpanzee close enough, and the impressive horse was a winner for the 22nd time in 28 career outings.