from Meadowlands Media Relations

Life Source [$8.00, $5.20, $3.40] and Holborn Hanover [$5.40, $3.20, $2.40] each won a $50,000 elimination division on Saturday night and earned their pick of post positions in the $225,000 Graduate Final on May 21 at the Meadowlands.

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Life Source paced the mile in 1:49 with George Brennan driving to win the 1st Graduate elim.

Life Source will have the rail and Holborn Hanover will leave from post three in the final. The balance of the draw will take place on Tuesday.

“He was unbelievable,” trainer Rich Banca said of Life Source, who scored a two and a quarter length victory over Articulator [$21.60, $9.80] in the second race, the first of the two divisions. “He’s just a great horse. He’s just always racing good. I’m just hoping to get a good trip in the final..”

Mypanmar [$6.80] was third by two and a quarter lengths.

Life Source, an eight-year-old gelded son of Life Sign, paced the mile in 1:49 with George Brennan driving. Owned by Richard T. Banca of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, Life Source now has five wins, three seconds and three thirds from 15 starts this year and a lifetime bankroll of $1.7 million.

Town Champion, fourth, and Boulder Creek, fifth, will also advance to the Graduate Final.

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Holborn Hanover, the 2004 Meadowlands Pace winner, got up in the final stride for a neck victory over Driven To Win in the third race, the second division of the Graduate.

Holborn Hanover, the 2004 Meadowlands Pace winner, got up in the final stride for a neck victory over Driven To Win [$6.00, $3.00] in the third race, the second division of the free for all stakes. Casimir Camotion [$3.00] was third in the 1:49.2 mile.

“It was a good race for him,” trainer Mark Harder said of Holborn Hanover. “He got away in a good spot. He’s still a nice quiet relaxed horse. He didn’t seem to get tired. He got to the front and relaxed. He looks after himself like that.”

Holborn Hanover, driven by Jim Morrill Jr., now has one win, one second and one third in three starts this year and career earnings of $1.2 million for John D. Fielding of Toronto, Ontario and Canamerica Capital Corp. of Milton, Ontario.

Also earning spots in the Graduate Final were Basil Hanover, fourth, and Mini Me, fifth.

Post positions were also selected by the winners of Friday night’s Cutler eliminations. Hurri Kane Billy G will have post two and Mr Muscleman, post three, in the $180,000 final on May 20.

In a pair of first round New Jersey Sire Stakes for three-year-old pacing colts, Village Jolt and Rocknroll Hanover reached the winner’s circle in their season’s debuts.

Rocknroll Hanover, sent off at odds of 1-2 with Brian Sears driving, got up to edge out Jo Pa’s Shark by a nose in 1:50.4 in the first race, a $36,950 division. Village Jolt, the Two-Year-Old Pacer of the Year in 2004, was the 1-5 favorite in his $36,350 division and scored a half-length victory over South Park Hanover in 1:51.2. Ron Pierce guided Village Jolt to his seventh win in 11 career starts.

Rocknroll Hanover, a son of Western Ideal trained by Brett Pelling, is owned by Jeffrey Snyder of New York City and the Lothlorien Equestrian Center of Mississauga, Ontario.

Snyder and Arlene and Jules Siegel of New Hope, Pennsylvania, share ownership of Village Jolt, a Cam’s Card Shark colt trained by Ed Hart.