East Rutherford, NJ — A pair of upsets landed in the trio of $50,175 eliminations for the Hambletonian Oaks at the Meadowlands on Saturday night (Aug. 1) with Carve and Busy Miss Lissy S finding the winner’s circle in their respective eliminations while Setyoursightshigh, off the slight third choice in the betting, also clinched a victory.
Carve skimmed through a seam at the pylons to nab the first Hambletonian Oaks elimination in a 1:51.1 mile. Driver Andy McCarthy thrusted Carve to the point around the first turn but settled for the pocket as Madam Cheval brushed forward from the widest draw to take command into a :28 first quarter. Lainey W then lunged out of third into the backstretch to swoop to the top, shuffling Carve into third to a :56.2 half. Stuck at the pylons to three-quarters in 1:24.3 with first-up Ygritte and second-over Jailbird Jog to her outside, Carve awaited a gap in the stretch that soon opened as leader Lainey W sprinted for the finish. Carve surged inside of Lainey W late in the stretch to bag a 1-1/2-length win with Madam Cheval holding third.
“I really didn’t know how to play this race,” Andy McCarthy said after the race. “She’s got so much early speed, but sometimes if I use her too much early, she doesn’t finish quite as strong. Once I saw Timmy (Tetrick, with Madam Cheval) was on the gate and moving forward, I thought this should work out. She was on the muscle tonight. As soon as I had clearance to get through, I figured she had enough trot to finish it off.”
Noel Daley trains Carve, a daughter of Captain Corey-Alpine, for lessees Patricia Stables, L A Express Stable and Sjoeblom Racing. She won her fifth race from 17 starts, earning $296,198, and paid $10.80 to win.
Busy Miss Lissy S converted a pocket trip into an upset in the second Hambletonian Oaks elimination, staving off a late charge from 1-5 favorite Nezuko Kamado S for a lifetime-best 1:51.4 victory. After taking the lead to a :27.2 first quarter, Busy Miss Lissy S yielded command to pocket-popping Frattina Diablo S in the backstretch and coasted behind the leader to a :57 half. But once Nezuko Kamado S pulled off the pylons from fourth and pushed up the rim, driver Åke Svanstedt loomed out of the pocket with Busy Miss Lissy S and attacked for the lead to three-quarters in 1:25.2. She then reached for the finish under pursuit from Nezuko Kamado S to hold onto the victory by a neck with Frattina Diablo S settling for third and Storybook Love earning the last berth into the final.
“She didn’t race great last time (in the Zweig Filly Trot), but she also has been up and down with the training and the heat; the weather hasn’t really been in our favor,” Sarah Svanstedt of Team Svanstedt said. “I have said all along I am so impressed with her every time she hits the track because she’s very small but she has the biggest heart that I have seen. Just her instinct to know where the wire is has come a long way. She’s very small but she fights, so I love her.”
Åke Svanstedt trains Busy Miss Lissy S, a filly by Calgary Games-Hill’s Angel S, for owner Panamera Racing. She won her eighth race from 14 starts this season, earning $273,427, and paid $18.40 to win.
Driver Dexter Dunn circled Setyoursightshigh to the lead and nabbed easy fractions while holding strong against a cavalry charge to win the final Oaks elimination in 1:53.1. Dunn looped from the pocket after a :27.3 first quarter to lead up the backstretch to a :58 half before gradually accelerating through the remainder. Setyoursightshigh clocked three-quarters in 1:26.3 and spun for home with an ample cushion to withstand a flurry of rivals late for the win by a neck. Leading Lady recovered from a break at the start to rally for second with Custom finishing third.
“She was all class last year and didn’t start the season off that flashy this year, but Marcus (Melander) and the team have got her back on track,” Dunn said after the race. “She was excellent at Vernon and felt great tonight. I got pretty cheap fractions tonight, but the way she felt was really impressive. She definitely wasn’t tired, just a little lonely up there. She was going pretty good.”
Marcus Melander trains Setyoursightshigh, a daughter of In Range-Special Interest, for owners Heights Stable, Mantorp LLC, AMG Stable Inc. and K. Kjellgren Livs AB Inc. The filly won her 10th race from 17 starts, earning $823,997, and paid $7.40 to win.
Each elimination winner earned draw protection between posts 1 and 6 for the final, taking place as the co-feature to Hambletonian No. 101 next Saturday (Aug. 8).