from The Meadowlands Media Relations Department

East Rutherford, NJ — In a track and stakes record time of 1:50, Manchego and Yannick Gingras won the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks for 3-year-old trotting fillies on Saturday (Aug. 4) at The Meadowlands. It was the fifth Hambletonian Oaks victory in a row for the driver/trainer team of Yannick Gingras and trainer Jimmy Takter.

Lisa photo

Gingras enjoys a moment with Manchego after her win in the Hambletonian Oaks.

Manchego and Gingras were first to the lead, reaching that marker in :27.2 and held off Plunge Blue Chip (Ake Svanstadt) to the :55.2 half-mile. Just beyond the half-mile mark, Plunge Blue Chip was off the rail and on the outside, making an attempt to get the lead away from Manchego by the 1:23.2 three-quarters.

When Plunge Blue Chip left the rail, Phaetosive (Trond Smedshammer) was right behind them, chasing the leaders down the lane. The two could not catch Manchego, who hit the wire a length ahead of the field, but Phaetosive overcame Plunge Blue Chip for the place spot.

Asked about his five race win streak with Takter-trained horses in the oaks, Gingras said, “I’m just a lucky guy that gets asked to drive. It’s all (Takter). He’s got great horses and he does a great job. He’s a tremendous trainer. I’m just lucky that he puts my name on the sheet.”

The race was essentially a rematch of the Del Miller Memorial on July 14, when Plunge Blue Chip beat Manchego. Asked what the difference was today, Gingras replied, “The driving. The driving was a little different. I underestimated Plunge Blue Chip in that race. I went too fast to the half. She’s a great horse too but I think my horse is a notch better. Today I rated the fractions a little bit better and my filly responded well.

“All four of them (the top four finishers today) can go (1)50. It’s never been done before and you have four in the same crop. It’s too bad today, I really believe my filly would have beat Atlanta as well. It would have been nice to have the matchup with her in there. I still believe I have the best filly and I can’t wait for them to hook up.

“There was nobody leaving, I got an easy front, so I took the matter in my own hands. I knew [Plunge Blue Chip] was going to come. I was backing it down to force his hand a little bit. I thought it was a better chance for me to win to have him first up and have him outside of me and that put [Phaetosive] a little further away from me. I don’t think the race could have worked out any better.”

Manchego ($4.40 $2.40 $2.10) topped an $8.20 exacta with Phaetosive ($2.40 $2.10) and Plunge Blue Chip ($2.40) was third.

Manchego is trained by Jimmy Takter and owned by Black Horse Racing, John Fielding and Herb Liverman.