Meadowlands: Sophomore trotters show their stuff in Reynolds Memorials

Three-year-old trotters continued on the Road to the Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks in divisions of the W.N. Reynolds Memorial on Saturday night at the Meadowlands.

In the first $34,825 grouping for the colts and geldings, Go Dog Go (Todd McCarthy) dropped into sixth from post nine, worked out a cover trip through fractions of 28, 56 2/5 and 1:25 and charged home in 26 3/5 to get up and defeat Mr Mouton (Dexter Dunn) by a length in a career-best 1:52. Mountcastle (Scott Zeron) checked in third.

"He floated out of there pretty nice. I was lucky enough to find a hole there and just sort of moved him up the backstretch," said McCarthy. "We had pretty good live cover off the turn there, but he was quite full of himself. He wanted to go, and when I showed him daylight there, he had plenty of go. It was a good result."

Carter Pinske trains Go Dog Go, a Greenshoe colt, for breeder/co-owner Wiesman Farms LLC. and co-owner Al Libfeld. Go Dog Go has four wins, two seconds and two thirds from 12 starts, has earned $351,637 and paid $2.60 to win as the 1-5 favorite.

Trainer Ake Svanstedt was 1-2 in the other $34,325 tilt for the boys with Gap Kronos S (Yannick Gingras) and Nordic Catcher S (Svanstedt drove). Gap Kronos S showed speed from the nine-hole and took command away from Nordic Catcher S beyond the 28 second opening quarter and then went on to the half in 56 and the three-quarters in 1:51 4/5. From there, Gap Kronos S had a 27 2/5 kicker in reserve to defeat his stablemate by a length and a half in a life's-best 1:51 4/5 and Precise Landing (Tim Tetrick) grabbed third.

"Honestly I thought that there'd be a lot more speed up the inside, but once there wasn't, it made my decision easy," Gingras said about the decision to go to the front. "That's what I was telling Ake after the race - that he's a little bit lazy. He needs to be reminded. That's why I think he'd probably be better off chasing, but I was really happy how he responded when I asked him."

A colt by Face Time Bourbon, Gap Kronos S was bred by Winged Lion Breeding Ab and is owned by Bruni Racing Team Inc. He has a summary of 4-2-1 from 11 outings, has pocketed $200,353 and returned $5.60 to win as the second choice.

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Yo Tillie (T. McCarthy) isn't Hambletonian Oaks eligible but served notice for the other stakes she's in with a romping 1:51 win in her $33,375 section for the fillies. Yo Tillie hit the front after 28 2/5 quarter and then yielded to a two-wide Titian (Scott Zeron) before the 56 second half-mile marker.

On the last turn McCarthy brought Yo Tillie off the pylons, and she went by Titian with little dispute on the way to the 1:24 three-quarters. After that, a 27 second end to the mile carried Yo Tillie to an eight length win over a parked-out Champagne Problems (Dunn), with early leader Margareta Hanover (Gingras) third.

"She's so smart and she loves her job. Looking at here her now, she wouldn't blow a candle out. She's very impressive right now," McCarthy said following the eye-catching win.

The winner, a daughter of Tactical Landing, was sent out by Andrew Harris, who co-owns her with partners William Pollock and Bruce Areman. Yo Tillie, bred by GBW Breeding Farms with Black Creek Farm, made her tenth trip to the winner's circle from 14 appearances, has banked $341,987 and paid $2.80 to win as the 2-5 favorite.

Conversano (Andy McCarthy) brushed from third to first past the 28 3/5 quarter in the second $32,875 filly clash and then put up middle-half numbers of 57 seconds and 1:25. In the stretch Conversano had challengers both to the outside and inside, but she was resolute throughout and won by a head in 1:52 1/5. R Dutchess (Tetrick) closed well from second-over for runner-up honors and Delaney Hanover (Zeron) grabbed third after a first-over attack.

By Muscle Hill, Conversano is a Juan Cano trainee. Bred by Joseph Parisi and owned by Hot Lead Farm, Conversano has won half of her 14 efforts, has put away $222,562 and returned $5.40 to win as the second choice.