East Rutherford, NJ – Chris Ryder’s sophomore filly icon Miki And Minnie trounced older competition as the decisive favorite in the $175,000 Grade 2 FanDuel Championship Mare Pace on Saturday (Nov. 15) at The Meadowlands. M-M’s Dream won earlier on the card in her Big M swan song in the $175,000 Grade 2 FanDuel Championship Mare Trot.
Miki And Minnie torched a dampened track downgraded to “good” with a 1:49.2 effort to win the FanDuel Championship for pacing mares.
Stonecoldtreachery flashed early speed from the pylons to capture the lead off the gate. Another quick early move put Kobe’s Gigi second with Miki And Minnie taking back into third for a flashy :26.3 first quarter. Kobe’s Gigi charged on the outside and got the top to pass Stonecoldtreachery, but Miki And Minnie soon made a move for the front and took over the lead with some encouragement through a :55 half.
Breeders Crown winner Always B Naughty followed Miki And Minnie’s brush and was left uncovered to challenge for the lead into the final turn. Miki And Minnie cruised to three-quarters in 1:23.1 and easily repelled Always B Naughty turning for home before drawing away from the competition for a 3-1/2 length win. Talk Curdy To Me powered past tiring horses to grab second and Aardie B Miki N also charged home to take third. Kobe’s Gigi held fourth.
“Once she gets [to the lead] she’s good as gold,” Dexter Dunn said. “Just clearing with her sometimes, you have to tell her to do it. Once she got there she really grabbed onto the bit strong in the last turn and she was feeling super coming off it.”
It was the 13th win in 15 starts this year and the 19th win in 26 starts at 2 and 3 for the daughter of productive sire Always B Miki out of the Roll With Joe mare That’s The Ticket. Miki And Minnie, a homebred for Craig Henderson, Robert Mondillo and Lawrence Minowitz, has earned $1,957,910. An overwhelming favorite, she paid $3.20 to win.
The FanDuel Championship for trotting mares went to M-M’s Dream with thanks to an assertive drive by Yannick Gingras to give the mare a victory in her final start over the track, scoring over a surface rated “fast” in 1:51.4.
M-M’s Dream left the gate swiftly for Gingras to take the lead while Warrawee Michelle found a spot second and Elista Hanover raced wide with nowhere to plant. She marched outside to try for the lead in a :27.1 first quarter but took a bad step and galloped out of contention, leaving M-M’s Dream to command the field steadily to a :56.3 half.
The field remained in alignment until Warrawee Michelle tipped off the pylons in the final turn to try her best to challenge for the lead. M-M’s Dream kicked for home off three-quarters in 1:25.1 and sprinted strongly to handily defeat her peers with a 1:51.4 win by 1-3/4 lengths. Bravo Angel S skimmed the pylons to finish second with Warrawee Michelle settling for third and Nelsonbriteagle NO giving chase for fourth.
“I’ve driven her all year and she’s been tremendous,” Yannick Gingras said. “The last few starts, maybe she wasn’t quite as sharp as she was in the middle of the summer, but she surely showed up tonight. I’m happy for the connections.”
The win in the FanDuel Championship is the fifth on the year from 15 starts for M-M’s Dream and her 37th victory from 69 starts. Hall of Famer Ron Burke trains the 6-year-old mare by Swan For All-Trading Places for owners Hillside Stables and Frank Baldachino. She has now earned $2,294,122 in her career.
“She’s great. She just tries so hard. She’s just a great horse,” said co-owner Frank Baldachino in The Meadowlands’s retirement ceremony for M-M’s Dream. His son, Joey Baldachino, also said “She’s been phenomenal her whole career and she loves this track, so she always gives a good effort here. It’s just special to have a horse like this.”
M-M’s Dream, paying $14.80 to win, has one start left in her career. She’ll close her campaign in a special race next Saturday (Nov. 22) at Harrah’s Hoosier Park.
Watch M-M’s Dream FanDuel race replay here.
To View Miki and Minnie’s FanDuel race replay, click here.