“It’s a beautiful trophy,” he said. “I’m glad I got to see it up close.”

Sears claimed the Meadowlands Pace in his third try as Rocknroll Hanover won in 1:48.3 by three lengths over stablemate Village Jolt. Sears was seventh with Whatanartist in 2003 and fifth with Georgia Pacific in 2004.

“It’s good to get it done,” Sears said. “I’ve had some chances. Those chances don’t come along often. You don’t want to let them slip by without capitalizing. And the Snyders (Jeffrey, Michael and Paula) are great owners. They were very excited. It’s great when you can make people that happy.”

Rocknroll Hanover was third as the horses reached the first quarter in 26.2 seconds, then moved to take the lead from Village Jolt. Stonebridge Regal, racing with a broken hobble-hanger, challenged first-over but was unable to pass.

“I expected someone to leave from the outside,” Sears said. “It set up really well for us. He went forward and went to the front; it wasn’t too hard on him and set up nice for us. Going around the last turn, he felt great. He just swelled up when he heard those horses behind him.”

Sears and Rocknroll Hanover have teamed to win the most lucrative races in the sport for 2- and 3-year-old pacers. Last year, the duo captured the $933,086 Metro Pace at Woodbine in a world record 1:49.4. In June, they won the $1.2 million North America Cup.

Rocknroll Hanover is the first horse since Gallo Blue Chip in 2000 to win the North America Cup and Meadowlands Pace.