Ken Weingartner

Hightstown, NJ — Recently crowned Graduate Series champions Bella Bellini and Rattle My Cage will put win streaks on the line when they lead a field of 11 horses into Saturday’s $432,000 E.T. Gerry Jr. Hambletonian Maturity for 4-year-old trotters at The Meadowlands. The race will be contested at 1-1/8 miles.

Bella Bellini, who won last year’s Hambletonian Oaks and brings a three-race win streak into Saturday’s contest, is the 3-1 morning-line favorite. She is the only female in the race and will start from the trailing position, post 11, in the 1-1/8 miles event.

Last week, Bella Bellini won the Graduate Series final for 4-year-old mares in 1:51.1 at The Meadowlands. After going winless in seven starts at age 2, she has captured 15 of 27 races and finished worse than third only once during that span. She has earned $1.33 million lifetime for breeder-owner David McDuffee and trainer Richard “Nifty” Norman.

Last week, Bella Bellini won the Graduate Series final for 4-year-old mares in 1:51.1 at The Meadowlands. Lisa photo.

Regular driver Dexter Dunn will be in the sulky for Bella Bellini, a daughter of Bar Hopping-Bella Dolce who received the 2021 Dan Patch Award for best 3-year-old trotting filly.

A mare has won two of the eight editions of the Hambletonian Maturity, with Hannelore Hanover taking the title in 2016 and Ariana G winning in 2018.

“I don’t mind the trailing spot in a mile and an eighth, but she’ll have to get lucky,” Norman said. “She’ll have to get out somehow and she’ll have to race her best. That’s how she races her best; if she gets out late, she’s pretty tough to hold off. We have to hope for a good trip and that things work out.”

Rattle My Cage enters the Maturity with a four-race win streak and is a neck from being unbeaten in five 2022 starts. Last week, the stallion won the Graduate Series Open Trot final in 1:51. He will start from post eight with Yannick Gingras driving for trainer Ake Svanstedt and owner Perry Soderberg. He is the 7-2 second choice on the morning line.

“We have an outside post, but he’s good and he’s tough,” Svanstedt said. “Yannick said he had something left last time, so we’ll see what he can do.”

Rattle My Cage won the Graduate Series Open Trot final in 1:51. Lisa photo.

Rattle My Cage, a son of Love You-Caress The Senses, has won eight of 23 career races.

“He grew a lot over the winter and spring,” Svanstedt said. “He trained back good and qualified good, so I expected good performances from him. I’m not surprised. When you see a horse growing taller and wider, you can expect a better performance than before. He is stronger and faster now. He is very good.”

Svanstedt, who won the inaugural Hambletonian Maturity with Your So Vain in 2014, will send out three other starters in the Maturity: Ambassador Hanover (6-1 morning line), Incommunicado (12-1), and Delayed Hanover (15-1).

Ambassador Hanover finished third in the Graduate Series Open final and will start the Maturity from post three with driver Scott Zeron.

“He came home good (in :26.2) last week,” Svanstedt said. “He’s as good as he can be.”

Graduate Series Open runner-up Take All Comers will start from post seven in the Maturity and is 10-1. Tim Tetrick will drive for trainer Jim Campbell. The two teamed up to win the 2019 Maturity with Crystal Fashion.

Take All Comers has won five of 28 career races and earned $469,709. He has earned a paycheck in all but three of his starts.

Take All Comers has won five of 28 career races and earned $469,709 for trainer Jim Campbell. USTA/Mark Hall photo.

“We were very happy with his performance last week, and he’s had a good week,” Campbell said. “With this race you just have to hope you get a good trip with the added distance. But he’s been a real nice horse for us. He gives you a good effort every time. He wants to do it. If he does show a bad race, there is usually an excuse for it. It’s not him just taking the night off or anything like that.”

The remainder of the Maturity field includes Ahundreddollarbill, Sonofamistery, Balenciaga, Cuatro De Julio, and Inaminute Hanover. Ahundreddollarbill and Sonofamistery each won a preliminary round of the Graduate Series while Cuatro De Julio finished second in a Graduate division and in the Arthur J. Cutler Memorial.

“It’s a tough group of horses,” Campbell said. “Obviously, Rattle My Cage was very impressive last week, but there are lots of them in there that have shown they can go. You’re finding that in most classes now; there’s not just one or two horses that maybe dominate. There’s a bunch of them.”

The E.T. Gerry Jr. Hambletonian Maturity is race 11 on Saturday.

Racing begins at 6:20 p.m. (EDT). The card also includes the Meadowlands Pace for 3-year-old pacers, William R. Haughton Memorial for older male pacers, Dorothy Haughton Memorial for older female pacers, Mistletoe Shalee for 3-year-old female pacers, the third leg of the Miss Versatility Series for older female trotters, two divisions of the Del Miller Memorial for 3-year-old female trotters, and two divisions of the Stanley Dancer Memorial for 3-year-old male trotters.

All of the major events on the program will be shown live to a national television audience on Fox Sports 2 (FS2). The show will be broadcast from 8-11 p.m. (EDT).

TrackMaster past performances for all Meadowlands cards can be found at the track’s website here.