East Rutherford, NJ – Aged trotting division leader Periculum navigated through a perfect trip by Scott Zeron to win the Grade 2 $300,000 John Cashman Memorial Open Trot on Saturday (Aug. 2) at The Meadowlands.
Up Your Deo and Sir Pinocchio were aggressive leaving the gate, exchanging leads and burning the first quarter in :26.2, only to surrender to a strong brush by 8-hole starter Lexus Kody. The tempo slowed a bit with Lexus Kody on a lead that he kept while scoring a :54 half.
Private Access presented a first-over move from mid-pack that Zeron utilized to start Periculum’s covered attack. Zeron’s charge perched into fourth as the top three felt the weight of a 1:22.1 three-quarter clocking.
Fueled with trot, Periculum was raring to storm the stretch and devour the tiring top three. Zeron let his steed loose while Security Protected found his best stride late and Chapercraz set sail through an opening at the pylons. Periculum powered home to a lifetime-best victory of 1:49.3 by a widening 2-3/4 lengths as Security Protected clinched second from Chapercraz and Private Access faded to fourth.
“We had great cover following a really good horse,” Scott Zeron said. “I expected him to be good off of that trip. I was hoping Louis was going to do just that – he had no other options [and] was a little far back to power move, which played to my hand and I was able to have a nice second-over trip. I’ve been in that spot with him a few times and he hasn’t disappointed me, so I was like ‘Please, not today.’”
Periculum, a 6-year-old stallion by Muscle Hill-Amour Heiress, was the 2-5 betting choice and paid $2.80 to win. Trained by Marcus Melander for owners Brixton Medical Inc. and Holly Lane Stud East LTD., Periculum bagged his third win from four starts this season and his 14th victory from 54 starts in his career. He has now earned $1,634,376.