Melander, Sears kick off road to Hambletonian Oaks at Big M
April 17, 2021,East Rutherford, NJ — Trainer Marcus Melander unveiled a contender for the Aug. 7 Hambletonian Oaks at The Meadowlands Friday night (April 16), as his Imhatra AM S worked out a perfect pocket trip with Brian Sears doing the driving on the way to winning her 3-year-old debut in 1:56.3.
Imhatra AM S and driver Brian Sears score at The Meadowlands Friday night. The 3-year-old is a Hambletonian Oaks hopeful from the barn of Marcus Melander. Lisa Photo.
Owned by Courant Inc., the daughter of 2009 Hambletonian champion Muscle Hill (who was handled by Sears) is out of the dam Tamla Celeber S, a million-dollar earner who won a Breeders Crown in 2012 when driven by Sears.
Hambletonian eligible Swan Hill (Mattias Melander), a 3-year-old colt by Muscle Hill-Swan Wise As who is also from Melander’s barn, set sail for the lead in the 3-year-old trotting event for non-winners of one and cut out fractions of :28.4, :58.3 and 1:28 before being overtaken in deep stretch along the pylons by his stablemate to finish three-quarters-of-a-length back in second. Perfect Record was third.
The betting public was unfazed by the fact that Imhatra AM S was making only her second career start, sending her to the gate as the 2-5 favorite, returning $2.80 to win.
CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR: All-source wagering totaled $3,227,696, to fall just $10,000 short of last week’s $3,237,137, which was the best Friday night of business in 2021. Races six and 10 led the way with total betting of $354,485 and $361,223, respectively. The sixth race 50-cent Pick-4 took in $107,834 of action while the 10th race saw $98,001 put in play.
A LITTLE MORE: Driver Luke Hanners made his debut at The Big M and came close to getting a victory, finishing second with All American N, who went parked every step of the way from post 10 before getting nailed by 8-5 favorite Gold Medal Swan by a head in 1:54.3. Thus far in 2021, Hanners, 20, has a combined 40 wins from 431 starts racing at Freehold and Rosecroft Raceways. … Dexter Dunn and Yannick Gingras had two winners apiece. The top two drivers in the Big M colony now have 67 and 45 wins, respectively. … Racing resumes Saturday at 6:20 p.m.