Meadowlands: Nelsonbriteagle flies to victory in her FanDuel Championship

Norwegian-bred Nelsonbriteagle and driver Dexter Dunn took control before the quarter and cruised to a record victory in capturing the $150,000 FanDuel Championship final for filly and mare trotters at the Meadowlands on Saturday night. The Ake Svanstedt-trained daughter of Bold Eagle set a stakes- and personal-best with her 1:49 4/5 mile.

The short field of six saw half the horses leave, but Allegiant and Scott Zeron were first to the front, putting M-M's Dream in the pocket. R Melina, one of two sophomores in the field, broke stride and took herself out before the first turn. Dunn had Nelsonbriteagle energized and took control before the 27 2/5 quarter had been passed. Once on the point Dunn just kept the fractions honest, hitting the half in 55 seconds before Svanstedt, with stablemate Call Me Goo, took up the chase by coming from fifth and going without cover.

Nelsonbriteagle continued her sharp speed around the last turn, but Zeron thought he had a chance at overtaking her and pulled pocket before the 1:22 2/5 three-quarters had been reached. It didn't take long for Zeron to get back to the pylons, though, as Nelsonbriteagle hit another gear and sprinted away with a 27 2/5 final quarter to complete the mile. Allegiant was a solid second as the other sophomore filly in the race, with Warrawee Xenia coming on late for third.

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For Dunn, it was the third consecutive win in this race, having previously guided the Svanstedt-trained Jiggy Jog S.

"She felt good behind the gate tonight," said Dunn. "It was a great effort by her."

As a 9-5 offering Nelsonbriteagle NO returned $5.60 to win. Owned by Ake Svanstedt Inc., and breeder Nils Johan Munkhaugen, Nelsonbriteagle won for the third time in nine starts this season.