Rich Fisher

Trenton, NJ — A little rest, a little maturity, and a little confidence have meant a lot to Sonofamistery.

Trained by Marcus Melander for owners S R F Stable and Holly Lane Stud East, the horse is 2-for-2 this year entering the $75,000 first leg of the Graduate Series for 4-year-old trotters Saturday (May 7) at The Meadowlands. He is coming off a win in the $40,000 New Jersey Breeders Maturity final April 23 at The Big M and is the 3-1 morning-line favorite with driver Brian Sears.

His start to 2022 is quite an improvement from the latter part of last season, when Sonofamistery hit a wall after finishing sixth in the Hambletonian.

Sonofamistery and trainer Marcus Melander. USTA/Mark Hall photo.

“He’s been racing very good, and those wins have been good for his confidence,” Melander said. “He was racing very good last year until the Hambo and then he sort of flattened out and wasn’t himself. So, we turned him out after the (Kentucky) Futurity and gave him a couple months in the paddock. He started fresh this year and it’s been really good for his confidence.”

The single Graduate division for trotters is part of a packed card at The Meadowlands. There are two $50,000 Graduate divisions for 4-year-old male pacers on tap as well as the seasonal debut of Test Of Faith, the defending Horse of the Year, in a $40,000 Fillies-and-Mares Open plus $31,500 Opens for trotters and pacers.

Sonofamistery, by Muscle Hill out of Mistery Woman, won three of eight starts and $27,500 as a 2-year-old. Last year he had two wins, three seconds and a third, earning $167,132. His wins came in a 3-year-old open and a division of the Stanley Dancer Memorial, in which he went 1:50.2, the third fastest mile of the year for a 3-year-old trotter.

All that was accomplished in the first part of the season, but things went awry after that and Melander took responsibility.

“He was racing good,” the trainer said. “Then in the final of the Hambo he flipped his palate and started to bleed a little bit. I probably should have just taken him back and not have raced him too hard after that. So, I made a mistake there. But he’s coming back great now and we’re very happy with how he looks.

“He made some breaks last year, but I think he showed a lot of potential. He’s a year older and he feels more mature this year. You can really see that on his body as well. He’s as fast as any one of those 4-year-olds. He showed that last year. He’s got a qualifier and won two races this year, so he should be right there with them. I definitely think he has the potential to race against the best 4-year-olds.”

Sonofamistery is one of those enjoyable horses that is friendly in the barn but has that fire on the track that makes him want to compete.

“He’s a stud but you can’t notice,” Melander said. “He’s very nice to be around, and he likes to race. He has a good attitude. Last year he could be a little aggressive sometimes. This year he’s been perfect. He’s more mature and Brian can handle him a lot better.”

Sonofamistery had to beat just four other horses to win the Maturity. He drew post six in a Graduate field of 10 that includes Canadian Trotting Classic winner Ahundreddollarbill and Kentucky Futurity runner-up Cuatro De Julio. It’s another early test in a season that shows promise.

“We have to start with the 4-year-old races, and then he’s staked a little to the other big races later in the year and we’ll see how he handles that,” Melander said. “He’s been feeling great as we trained him down this year. You can really see the difference from 3 to 4. I think he’ll have a good year overall.”

In the 11-horse Graduate divisions for pacers, millionaire Charlie May is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the first and Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champ Lou’s Pearlman is the 3-1 choice in the second.

For more on the Graduate Series races and the return of Test Of Faith, read Jay Bergman’s story on DRF Harness here.

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