by Don Bielak, publicity director, Freehold Raceway

FREEHOLD, NJ – – Lindy Five Hundred, benefitting from a carefully rated drive by George Brennan, held off a determined final surge by Great George Two and won the $184,425 Dexter Cup final at Freehold Raceway on Saturday.

Brennan drove Lindy Five Hundred quickly from post two at the start and got his colt to the lead before the first turn. Great George Two, driven by Jonathan Roberts, was also hustled from the gate leaving from post seven and dropped into the pocket leaving the first turn when Corona Bluestone (Cat Manzi) could not keep the hole closed.

Lindy Five Hundred passed the opening panel in a swift :28, but immediately began to slow the pace thereafter and led at the midway point of the mile in 59.3 as one of his entrymates, Clearaway (Ray Schnittker), joined him on the outside.

The two leaders raced head and head through a mild, 31.3 third quarter and were still racing as a team as the field headed into the final turn, with Great George Two still racing – under a strong hold – in the pocket.

At that point, Manopoly (Marcus Johansson) rushed up from the back of the pack and briefly took a three-wide lead on the turn before weakening, then going offstride.

Through the stretch, Brennan asked Lindy Five Hundred for speed, and the son of Lindy Lane responded with an all-out sprint to the wire, where he held off a fast-closing Great George Two to win by a neck in 1:59.1. Clearway faded through the stretch but was able to last for the show spot, two and three-quarters lengths behind Lindy Five Hundred.

Ray Schnittker, who trains Lindy Five Hundred for the partnership of Jones For President, KR Breeding and Edward Pachula, revealed that his pre-race strategy worked to perfection. “I told George (Brennan) to go right to the front and not to let the seven (Great George Two) get the lead,” Schnittker said. “If we could get in front of the seven, I knew we had the race.”

“He’s eligible for the Hambletonian, so we’ll shoot for that,” Schnittker added. “I’d like to shoot for everything he’s eligible for.”

The $1.7 million Hambletonian, the premier event in harness racing for three-year-old trotters, will be contested at the Meadowlands on August 6.

Brennan offered his thoughts on his big win aboard Lindy Five Hundred. “This is my first Dexter win,” Brennan said. “It’s quite and honor to win such a prestigious, Grand Circuit race – a race with so much history.”

Brennan continued, “I really appreciate Ray giving me the chance to drive this horse. He did a great job getting him ready. He’s (Lindy Five Hundred) a pleasure to drive and when I asked him at the end, he came home strong with a :28 last quarter.”

The victory was the second in four starts this year for Lindy Five Hundred. He returned a win mutuel of $2.80 as the 2-5 favorite coupled with Clearaway, Manopoly and Armbro Copenhagen.

A pair of $66,035 divisions of the Helen Dancer Memorial, for three-year-old pacing fillies, were also contested on the Freehold card.

In the first division, David Miller guided White Birch Farm’s Vegas Style to victory by a nose over Marnie Hall (Dan Dube) in 1:56.3. Chattanooga (Brian Sears) finished one-half length back in third.

The second division saw Marilyn and Ian Fromowitz’s Digga Digga register a come-from-behind, 1:55.3 win with Patrick Berry in the sulky. Sugar Glider (Brian Sears) finished a lengh behind the winner in second and Mississippi River (Dan Dube) took third, one and one-half lengths back.