East Rutherford, NJ — Bond and driver-trainer Ake Svanstedt shunned post 10 and made two strong moves to win the $279,290 Kindergarten Classic Final for 2-year-old trotting fillies on Saturday night (Nov. 12) at The Meadowlands.

When the 10-horse field left the gate, Svanstedt guided Bond freely to the front to score a :26.4 first quarter into the turn. Instagram Model (Scott Zeron) and Heart On Fire (Todd McCarthy) followed at the pylons while Mambacita (Yannick Gingras) rushed after Bond on the outside and took over the lead. Svanstedt, with Instagram Model looming to move off the pegs, took Bond out again to pass Mambacita and command the field to a :55.3 half.

Bond and trainer-driver Ake Svanstedt winning the Nov. 12 Kindergarten Classic Final for 2-year-old trotting fillies at The Meadowlands. Lisa Photo.

Bond’s nine rivals stepped lively to keep up with the big favorite as she stayed smoothly in front to a three-quarter mark in 1:24. The back of the pack clearly fought tough as the early chasers behind Bond tired while she showed no signs of letting any filly pass her after the two engaging moves. Bond owned the mile to score her fifth-straight win, this one in 1:52.3 – a lifetime mark – and gamely earned by a nose. Three wide late to pick up second was Heart On Fire, followed by four-wide Quick Stop (Tim Tetrick) and another longshot in Wild Jiggy S (Dexter Dunn).

“She was really fast,” Ake Svanstedt said after the race. “I was the first one before the turns. That horse is good. I had a feeling before that she’s fast, but I’d never left so fast before [with her]. She felt tired in the stretch, but she fought. She really wanted to win.”

Bond (Southwind Frank-Boccone Dolce), paid a generous $3.60 to win and spiked her earnings to $361,447 for owners Ake Svanstedt Inc., Little E LLC and L. Berg Inc. Svanstedt also said after the race that Bond’s next start should come in the Goldsmith Maid, which is part of the Fall Final Four and TVG Finals extravaganza card on Saturday, Nov. 26 at The Meadowlands.

-Ray Cotolo

Volume Eight (Chapter Seven-Lass A Rope) and driver Andrew McCarthy trounced nine of his peers in a blowout victory of the $268,180 Kindergarten Classic Final for 2-year-old trotting colts and geldings on Saturday night (Nov. 12) at The Meadowlands.

The time for the mile was 1:52, a lifetime mark that was one-fifth off the track record set by Don’t Let’em in 2018.

Andrew McCarthy and Volume Eight winning the Nov. 12 Kindergarten Classic Final for 2-year-old trotting colts at The Meadowlands. Lisa Photo.

McCarthy sat in fourth with Volume Eight as the field left the gate with Up Your Deo (Svanstedt), Some Kinda Crazy (Corey Callahan) and Purple Lord (David Miller) before him. Early shuffling resulted from a :27 first quarter as Purple Lord took the overland route to get the top only to lose it quickly to Volume Eight, who surged around him past a :55.4 half and approaching the turn to begin his dominant performance.

Volume Eight cut three-quarters in 1:25, making his foes breathless in the stretch as he ate real estate to break the beam at 1:52 and win by 8-1/4 lengths. Purple Lord struggled but kept the second spot while Some Kinda Crazy dug in wide to settle for third and Southwind Admiral (Todd McCarthy) took fourth.

The blowout for Volume Eight followed a fierce effort in a Kindergarten prelim last week where he recovered from a first-turn break and recouped double-digit lengths to win in 1:55.3.

“Two starts before last, we launched him pretty good, so I think he had that in his mind and I was trying to teach him something,” Andy McCarthy said of the colt’s break in his last start. “He had other things in mind. I was trying to make him do something he didn’t want to do and he made a little miscue, but he’s classy enough to catch himself back and get it done. He’s pretty slick, as you’d seen tonight.

“I had him in a headlock the whole way down the stretch,” McCarthy also said on the colt’s effort Saturday. “He was wanting to go a little more. He’s still got another race left, so I was trying to save a little bit. He wants to do his job, that’s for sure.”

Noel Daley trains the son of Chapter Seven who has now earned $234,536 by winning his fourth in a row. Daley co-owns the colt with Sjoblom Racing, Joe Sbrocco, LA Express and JAF Racing and Mario Mazza. He paid $3.20 to win.

Andy McCarthy also said after the race that Volume Eight’s next race will be in the Valley Victory, which is part of the Fall Final Four on TVG Finals night at The Meadowlands on Saturday, Nov. 26.

-Frank Cotolo