Meadowlands: Ryder trainees 1-2 in Perfect Sting for older pacing mares

In Saturday night's $153,200 Grade 3 Perfect Sting, for pacing mares at the Meadowlands, Miki And Minnie sustained a long first-over grind to upend Chris Ryder stablemate and 2024 Dan Patch Horse of the Year Twin B Joe Fresh in a thrilling stretch duel and lower her lifetime mark to 1:48 amid a sudden downpour.

James MacDonald activated Miki And Minnie out of midfield up the backstretch not long after Twin B Joe Fresh (Dunn) brushed from fourth to first well after a 26 2/5 first quarter, and the 4-year-old Always B Miki-That's The Ticket mare steadily ground forward to push the pace after a 53 4/5 half. The Ryder trainees matched strides to three-quarters in 1:21 1/5 and left their tiring pocket foe Prolific Fire (McNair) in their wake through the stretch. Twin B Joe Fresh fought gamely, but Miki And Minnie found enough to strike the front in the final yards of a 26 4/5 final-quarter duel and prevail by a hard-earned neck. Unreasonable (Todd McCarthy) emerged out of traffic in upper stretch and rallied to nab Louies Girl N (Bartlett) for third, another 2 3/4 lengths behind.

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"I didn't know what to think," said Ryder of the duel between his distaff dynamos. "Miki And Minnie always finds the wire; she's not the quickest horse, but she can go a mile. It was a great stretch battle and one had to get there first, but it didn't surprise me that Miki And Minnie got there first. They're two terrific mares; they're beautiful to have."

Now a 23-time winner from 31 starts with $2,184,230 in the bank for the partnership of Craig Henderson, Robert Mondillo and Lawrence Minowitz, Miki And Minnie has won four of five races this season, including the Grade 1 Roses Are Red. Sent off the twos-on favorite, Miki And Minnie paid $3 to win.