by Leon Zimmerman, for the New Jersey Sire Stakes

Freehold, NJ — Shabalabadingdong closed in the stretch to win the $25,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes Green Acres championship for 3-year-old pacing fillies in 1:56.4 on Friday (September 30) at Freehold Raceway.

Helene Gregory/World Wide Racing Photos

Shabalabadingdong won the $25,000 NJSS Green Acres championship for 3-year-old pacing fillies in 1:56.

The daughter of Western Ideal was rough-gaited going into the first turn on the half-mile Freehold oval and settled in last place in the four-horse field. With Steve Smith driving, the filly made a first over move to the lead at the half-mile mark, but it wasn’t until the stretch that she caught up to the pace-setting Kiss Me Too (Red River Hanover). The winning margin was a half-length.

It was the seventh victory in 20 starts this year for the Erv Miller-trained filly, owned by the Shim Racing Stable of Northbrook, Ill. The $12,500 winner’s share of the purse boosted her 2011 earnings to $77,286 and career winnings to $78,486.

Kiss Me Too, driven by Jim Pantaleano for trainer Amy Haley and VIP Internet Stable of Piscataway, N.J., set the early fractions of :27.4, :57.1 and 1:26.4. LA Shark Hanover (Cam’s Card Shark) finished third and My Red Hot Mama (Red River Hanover) was fourth.