This Week: Meadowlands Pace final, William Haughton Memorial, Hambletonian Maturity, Stanley Dancer Memorial, Delvin Miller Memorial, Mistletoe Shalee, and Dorothy Haughton Memorial, The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, N.J.

Schedule of events: Grand Circuit action will be held on Saturday (July 15) as The Meadowlands has multiple stakes led by the $668,000 Meadowlands Pace final for 3-year-olds. Also on the card will be the $444,000 William Haughton Memorial for older pacers, the $410,250 Hambletonian Maturity for 4-year-old trotters, two divisions in the $277,000 Stanley Dancer Memorial for 3-year-old male trotters, two divisions in the $210,500 Delvin Miller Memorial for 3-year-old filly trotters, the $169,000 Mistletoe Shalee for 3-year-old filly pacers, and the $159,000 Dorothy Haughton Memorial for older pacing mares.

Complete entries for the races can be found by clicking on this link.

Last Time:  Jiggy Jog S, the magnificent 4-year-old Walner mare driven by Dexter Dunn, made one sweeping move on her seven male trotting foes to get the lead and then drew off to punctuate her dominance and win the $230,000 Graduate Series Trot final on Saturday (July 8) at The Meadowlands.

Jiggy Jog S with Dexter Dunn won the $230,000 Graduate Series Trot at The Meadowlands in 1:50.3. Lisa photo.

When the field left the gate, Keg Stand (Yannick Gingras) and Iwon’t Backdown As (Tim Tetrick) got going best as Pretender (Andrew McCarthy) broke stride, with Looks Like Moni (Scott Zeron) next and Jiggy Jog S from post one staying close at the inside. Going into the :27 first quarter, Looks Like Moni stayed out of further trouble as Iwon’t Backdown As broke stride.

Dunn steered Jiggy Jog S out of any other problem that might arise from her foes and easily strode to an outside path and took the lead just before the :55.4 half. Slay (David Miller) took the overland route with a charge to challenge, but Jiggy Jog S went into overdrive through three-quarters of 1:23.4.

She drew away from all the early starters and breakers and put two, and then three, and then five lengths between her and the five horses left trotting for minor prizes. Jiggy Jog S clocked the mile in 1:50.3, winning by 4-1/4 lengths. Looks Like Moni held the second spot at the wire and Cool Papa Bell (Todd McCarthy) was all out to get third over Pappardelle (Joe Bongiorno).

Jiggy Jog S equaled her seasonal best time while winning her eighth straight and staying unbeaten from four starts this year.

“She makes me look good, that’s for sure; the way she’s doing it,” said Dexter Dunn. “I couldn’t be more happy with the way she’s come back this year. Obviously (she) had an outstanding year (at three) but she’s just gotten stronger. She’s smartened up; she matured.”

Ake Svanstedt trains Jiggy Jog S. Jorgen Sparredal Inc. owns the mare that has now earned $1,369,438.

​​Complete recaps of all the races are available at the Grand Circuit website. For a list of 2023 race winners on the Grand Circuit, click here.

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2023, the Grand Circuit leaders in three categories (driver, trainer and owner) will once again be tracked on a points system (20-10-5 for the top three finishers in divisions/finals and 10-5-2 for the top three finishers in eliminations/legs). Winbak Farms is the sponsor for the 2023 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders (through the races on 7-8-23):

Drivers: 1. Dexter Dunn – 344; 2. Scott Zeron – 291; 3. Yannick Gingras – 280; 4. Jordan Stratton – 229; 5. Tim Tetrick – 179.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 284; 2. Ake Svanstedt – 282; 3. Linda Toscano – 205; 4. Nancy Takter – 144; 5. Brett Pelling – 132.

Owners: 1. Mark Ford – 98; 2. Jorgen Sparredal Inc. – 71.3; 3. Burke Racing Stable – 60.5; 4. Diamond Creek Racing – 60; 5. Team Tritton Inc. – 52.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will take place next week at Saratoga Harness, Plainridge Park, The Meadowlands and The Meadows. Saratoga will host the Joe Gerrity for older pacers, Plainridge has the Spirit of Massachusetts for older trotters and the Clara Barton for older pacing mares, The Meadowlands has the Tompkins-Geers for 3-year-old trotters and the Meadows has the eliminations for the Delvin Miller Adios for 3-year-old male pacers.