Meadowlands: Graduate divisions taken by It's Academic, Beads

The first division in the opening round of the Graduate Series for 4-year-old trotters at the Meadowlands on Saturday night may have looked academic on paper, but in the end, it required the best of It's Academic and driver Yannick Gingras to prevail as the 4-5 public choice.

The $50,000 purse was enough to inspire a host of leavers in the field of nine, and Ab'sattitudexpress was the first to cross to the front, followed by Hillexotic and driver Trond Smedshammer, who took control before the quarter. Gingras, with It's Academic, allowed himself to be looped by EL Ideal and Ake Svanstedt and followed that one up on the outside going past the quarter. Hillexotic got the quarter in 27 seconds and made EL Ideal work well past that marker before yielding. That made It's Academic expend more energy before clearing at the 54 2/5 half.

While Ab'sattitudexpress would make a second move with Tim Tetrick going into the far turn, Gingras had It's Academic, an Ohio-sired horse by Uncle Peter, cruising to the three-quarters in 1:23 4/5 and poised to accelerate. That pair took off, opened a large lead in mid-stretch, and looked to be coasting to an easy victory until Hypnotic AM rallied wide off third-over cover and ate up ground with wild abandon. The line arrived in time for It's Academic, and he still had his head in front of Hypnotic AM in a 1:51 1/5 clocking. Hillexotic found room along the pylons to gain the show spot.

Brad Grant owns It's Academic, a winner for the fourth time in 2021 for trainer Ron Burke. The winner paid $3.60.

"He was humongous," said Gingras following the race. "I was just letting him coast, and we almost go caught."

In the second $50,000 Graduate division, it was Beads and new driver David Miller cutting an explosive mile and drawing off in 1:50 2/5 as the third choice in the field of eight. The son of Archangel repeated the exact clocking he posted just eight days earlier in a qualifying mile, but this time got paid.

At the start 8-5 public choice Lovedbythemasses (Tetrick), broke stride, and that allowed Sorella (Gingras), last year's Hambletonian Oaks champion, to gain the early lead. However,Miller confidently drove to the front in the 26 4/5 quarter.

From there, it was mostly single file racing, as Beads led Sorella and last year's top 3-year-old Amigo Volo around the track through a half of 55 and three-quarters in 1:23 4/5. Gingras pulled Sorella before the three-quarters, but the mare didn't pose a threat, and at headstretch Beads shifted gears and took off, trotting a final quarter effortlessly in 27 3/5 for a career-best mile. Amigo Volo tipped off cover with a much-improved effort and rallied for second, with 90-1 shot Moon Bridge using every drop of the pylons to hold on to third.

Sent off at 9-2, the Per Engblom-trained Beads returned $11. Buckstone Land Livestock owns Beads, who was a winner for the eighth time in his career.

"They told me to keep him busy and talk to him," said Miller following the victory. "I spoke to him at the head of the stretch, and he just took off.”