from Meadowlands Media Relations

Although he has captured nearly every major stakes race at the Meadowlands, Hall of Fame driver Mike Lachance will look for his first win in the $126,500 Su Mac Lad with Self Professed on Sunday afternoon at the Meadowlands.

Lachance and Self Professed drew post eight and are rated at 6-1 on the morning line. Self Professed banked nearly $350,000 last year against the top three-year-old colts. A recent addition to trainer Mark Ford’s barn, Self Professed was a strong second to Great George Two in last week’s second round of the Su Mac Lad. It was only his second start of the season.

“[Last week] was the first time I sat behind him but I raced against him a lot as a three-year-old, and I knew he’s always been a talented horse,” Lachance said. “I didn’t know what to think of him, but Mark Ford told me he didn’t race too well last week, so I pledged to give him an easy trip on the rail and I had a lot of horse at the end.

I came up to finish second. I don’t know if he’s any match for Great George Two, but he raced awful good. It seems to me that Great George Two has so much speed and if he gets the trip and he’s not too far at the top of the stretch, I don’t think they’ll beat him. I assume [Self Professed] will need a good trip and to come up just at the end.

Definitely, he’s got enough ability [to win].”

The 5-2 favorite’s role in the Su Mac Lad belongs to round two winner Great George Two. Trained by Maryland-based Bib Roberts, Great George Two will be coupled in the wagering with stablemate Mr Dream OM and driven by Bib’s son, Jonathan Roberts. Lifetime, the trotter has banked more than $420,000.

“He was a little sore in his first start, so we didn’t want to push him too hard [last week],” Bib Roberts said. “[Jonathan] was happy with him. He said he was good. We’re looking forward to the rest of the year with him. [Last year] we were chasing some good ones, Classic Photo, Vivid Photo. If you could’ve put the SJ’s Photos out, we would have had a lot better year. I knew he was going to be in tough, but I knew he could hold his own. I knew he could get money. I wasn’t sure how many times he would win, but I knew he would get money in there.”

Roberts added that Great George Two needs constant amusement in the paddock.

“We keep cones in the paddock because if you don’t have the orange cones out there, he’ll grab a board off the fence and play with it,” he said.

Bib’s “other” entrant, Mr Dream OM drew post nine and will be piloted by John Campbell. The Hall of Fame driver has one Su Mac Lad win to his credit: 1995 with Ivory Prestige.

“He’s going to have to get very lucky to hit the board,”

Campbell said of Mr Dream OM. “He raced well last week. It’s kind of a disadvantage with a four-year-old against these aged trotters at this time of year. Having said that, the winner was very impressive last week. Jonathan’s horse went a real big mile. My horse is capable of hitting the board if the trip works out well. All these horses have aches and pains and the trotters learn to deal with that as they mature physically and mentally, although sometimes they don’t come into their own until age five or six. They don’t come to their speed as quickly as pacers, therefore they are longer maturing and in reaching their potential.”

Mr Dream OM has two wins in 19 lifetime starts and earnings of more than $70,000.

The field for the $126,500 Su Mac Lad:

Hd #, PP, Horse, Driver, Trainer, ML
1, 2, Great George Two, Jonathan Roberts, Bib Roberts, 5-2
1A, 9, Mr Dream OM, John Campbell, Bib Roberts, 5-2
2, 1, Muscles Marinara, Brian Sears, Ken Rucker, 9-2
3, 3, Young Pointer N, George Brennan, Bruce Saunders, 15-1
4, 4, HZ Easy, Jeff Gregory, Kevin McDermott, 15-1
5, 5, Yankee MJ, Yannick Gingras, Mark Silva, 8-1
6, 6, Westland Sun N, Cat Manzi, Chris Ryder, 8-1
7, 7, Hez Striking, Ron Pierce, Richard Norman, 3-1
8, 8, Self Professed, Mike Lachance, Mark Ford, 6-1
9, 10, Smooth Muscles, David Miller, Jim Campbell, 12-1

THIS WEEK ON THE MEADOWLANDS RACING INSIDER

Bib Roberts, the trainer of Great George Two, and drivers Mike Lachance and John Campbell will discuss Sunday’s Su Mac Lad Final on the Meadowlands Racing Insider.

This weeks edition of the online audio show, hosted by Mike Curci, also features trainer George Teague Jr. on the retirement of Rainbow Blue and Brian Sears, talking about his extraordinary month of March at the Meadowlands.

Weekly features include Backstretch Buzz with Bob Heyden and Horses to Watch with Ken Warkentin and Mike Curci.

To listen to the Meadowlands Racing Insider, visit:

http://www.thebigm.com/insider.asp or sportsnetamerica.com at http://www.sportsnetamerica.com/harness_racing_insider.html