Meadowlands: A walk in the park for Jiggy Jog S in Graduate Trot final
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Jiggy Jog S improved to three-for-three this season and won for the eighth straight time dating back to last year with an effortless-looking 1:50 3/5 victory in the $230,000 Graduate Series final for 4-year-old trotters on Saturday night at the Meadowlands.
There was plenty of early speed in the event, but Iwon't Backdown As (Tim Tetrick), one of the horses who left quickly, made a break on the first turn. That left Looks Like Moni (Scott Zeron) and Keg Stand (Yannick Gingras) to battle for command, with the latter going by the former past the quarter, which went on the board in 27 seconds.
Driver Dexter Dunn and Jiggy Jog S watched all of that transpire from third, and once everybody was satisfied with their position, Dunn fired the 1-9 favorite to the outside in the backstretch. She moved up and around Keg Stand before the 55 4/5 half and then got separation on the field before the 1:23 4/5 three-quarters as a first-over attempt out of fourth by Slay (David Miller) stalled out.
Through the stretch it was all Jiggy Jog S as she continued to pour on the coals and won by 4 1/4 lengths over an angling-out Looks Like Moni. Cool Papa Bell (Todd McCarthy), last year's Hambletonian winner, advanced from off-the-pace to third in the stretch, with Pappardelle (Joe Bongiorno) and Slay completing the top five.
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"I couldn't be more happy with the way she's come back this year," said Dunn following the win. "Obviously she had an outstanding year last year at 3, but she's just got stronger and she's smartened up and matured. She makes me look good out there.
"You can really do whatever you want with her. We just let the dust settle there in the first turn and moved her. It all her after that. We probably didn't race her as much on the front last year. We sort of came from behind a lot of the times. She knows what she's doing now, though. You put her on the front and both of her ears go forward, full pricked, and she's just happy as anything out there."
Invited earlier this week to compete in the $1 million MGM Yonkers International Trot on September 9, Jiggy Jog S is a daughter of Walner trained by Ake Svanstedt for owner Jorgen Sparredal Inc. This was her 14th win from 28 career starts, she has now earned $1,372,888, and she paid $2.20 to win.