Meadowlands: Melander trainees finish first, second in Valley Victory

Command Center sustained a first-over attack and inherited the lead in mid-stretch en route to victory in the Grade 1 $383,830 Valley Victory, for 2-year-old male trotters on Saturday (Nov. 14) at the Meadowlands.

Command Center and driver Dexter Dunn got away third from the pole as 3-5 favorite Bentley Blue Chip (driven by Yannick Gingras) controlled early splits of 27 4/5 and 56 seconds with Gustav Vasa (Brett Beckwith) tracking tightly from the pocket. With three-eighths of the mile remaining, Command Center took aim first-over and applied steady pressure to Bentley Blue Chip through the 1:24 3/5 three-quarters.

In upper stretch, it appeared as though Bentley Blue Chip would rebuff his outside challenger, but Command Center took over the lead at the sixteenth pole when Bentley Blue Chip broke stride, and he evaded runner-up Gustav Vasa by 3 1/4 lengths for a career-best 1:53 1/5 win. Seven Pledges (Jason Bartlett) rallied from last to finish fourth, and was elevated to third over the breaking Bentley Blue Chip.

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"He's always been a fast horse," said Marcus Melander, who trains three-time winner Command Center as well as Gustav Vasa. "He's a June foal, so we kept him in Kentucky and raced him easy. Then, he got a little sick after the Grand Circuit (at the Red Mile) and missed the Breeders Crown, so we figured we'd go for this race, and it played out good."

A son of Gimpanzee out of the Muscle Hill mare Mission Brief, Command Center was purchased for $500,000 by S R F Stable, Holly Lane Stud East and Steve Stewart from breeder Mission Brief Stable and has earned $325,096 from seven starts this season. As the 8-5 second choice, he paid $5.20 to win and led a Melander-trained exacta that paid $28.80.