Meadowlands: William R. Haughton Memorials won by Bythemissal, Lou Hill

Torrid fractions poised double millionaire Bythemissal for a furious bid from last down the center of the track to score his first stakes win as a 7-year-old with a 1:47 upset at 55-1 in the first of two $135,700 divisions of the Grade 2 William Haughton Memorial on Saturday night (July 11) at the Meadowlands.

Graduate final winner Captain Optimistic barreled for the lead out of post seven and swooped past early leavers Maximus Miki and For Once Inmy Life to take the top through a 25 1/5 first quarter. Odds-on favorite Ervin Hanover landed in fourth and angled off the pylons in the backstretch but stalled on the rim while Captain Optimistic torched a 52 3/5 half and maintained that speed to three-quarters in 1:19 4/5. Ervin Hanover floundered from the first-up grind rounding for home while Captain Optimistic reached desperately for the line. For Once Inmy Life emerged off the pylons with a late bid before the stands-side pair of Bythemissal and Swingtown swarmed the front with the strongest momentum late. Bythemissal soared by everyone to win by 1 1/4 lengths with Swingtown second, For Once Inmy Life third and Captain Optimistic fourth.

"It was one of the few races you don't mind sitting last because they were going to eventually get tired, and I knew my horse had a lot of pace," driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. said after the race. "He's a really good horse for a reason and he raced great tonight. About halfway down the stretch [I knew I won] - I knew I had to outpace Swingtown, which is tough in itself because he finished a strong second, but this horse is all class, he knows how to win, he's done it for many years now and I'm just happy for the horse."

Winning his second race from eight starts this season and his 33rd race from 65 starts in his career, Bythemissal has amassed $2,653,239 for owners Burke Racing Stable, Eric Good, Rich Lombardo Racing and Weaver Bruscemi. The Downbytheseaside-Dismissal gelding registered his first stakes victory since winning the Joe Auger Memorial at Harrah's Philadelphia last year, though he did equal the Canadian record later in the year with a lifetime-best 1:46 4/5 mile in winning a Canadian Pacing Derby elimination. With his win in the Haughton Memorial, Bythemissal also gave Burke the historic milestone of 17,000 training wins.

"I just told him congrats - actually, he told me because I didn't know he was one away," Wrenn Jr. also said. "I'm just happy to be part of the team and to be able to drive some of these great horses, and I'm happy for him too. He deserves it."

"It's a lot of wins, a lot of losses but I'm very proud of it," Burke said later after On To Norway won the Hambletonian Maturity. "I love to think I could get to 20,000 but that's a long way. That's my goal - to keep pushing to at least there."

Bythemissal, sent the longest shot on the board, paid $116.20 to win.

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Lou Hill bagged the other division of the William Haughton Memorial with a 1:47 2/5 effort. Driver Yannick Gingras grabbed the early lead with Lou Hill before yielding command as Coaches Corner circled from second to the lead through a 27 second first quarter. Fallout then tipped off the cones and brushed towards the lead to push the tempo to a 53 1/5 half while Ken Hanover pulled out of fourth to advance uncovered towards the lead. Lou Hill sat locked in the shuffle as Ken Hanover drew alongside Fallout, but with Captain Albano gapping cover from second-over, Gingras had clearance to tip outside coming to three-quarters in 1:20 2/5. Lou Hill then swung off cover and surged past Ken Hanover to win by 1 1/2 lengths with Captain Albano giving chase in third and Coaches Corner settling for fourth.

"He's actually been pretty good all along and a very uncomplicated horse," trainer Per Engblom said after the race. "We can train him hard and he’s doing well training, nice and sound and likes to race. When he was second at Miami Valley [in the Pacey Mindlin Memorial] I thought he was a horse for the top class."

A 5-year-old Sweet Lou-Pretty Katherine gelding, Lou Hill won his eighth race from 13 starts this season and his 21st race from 52 starts in his career, collecting $599,242 for owner Tom Hill. He paid $10.80 to win.