Magic Punk had a superb season at 2 for trainer Ake Svanstedt, winning half of his eight starts as well as finishing second to division standouts Apex and Ardonne in the Peter Haughton and William Wellwood, respectively.

Saturday night at The Meadowlands, as the track kicked off its Championship Meet, Magic Punk, making his seasonal debut, used a furious stretch rally to take the first significant 3-year-old open trotting stake of the season, the $157,125 Dexter Cup in an event record 1:53.1.

“(From a maturation standpoint he was) really nothing special because he was very all-around last year,” said Sarah Svanstedt. “You just want them to grow a little bit, and he has done that, and he is a talented horse, so he's going to have a nice 3-year-old season.”

After winning the way he did, it certainly looks that way.

Sitting fifth in the eight-horse field early as Nordic Dancer S hit the quarter in :28.3, Magic Punk stayed glued to the rail as 8-5 second choice Southwind Alamo brushed from fourth to grab the lead at the half in :57.1. Midwind Chimp popped out of the fourth spot just before the five-eighths as Magic Punk looked to track that move, but gapped cover down the backstretch.

Southwind Alamo hit the gas as three-quarters went in 1:25.2 while Magic Punk got closer to his cover before swinging three-wide into the stretch drive.

Southwind Alamo looked like a tired horse with an eighth to go and by now, Ake, who drove the colt by Wishing Stone-I D Entity, had Magic Punk closing with a rush, and the 7-5 favorite drew off to a 1¾-length score over Southwind Alamo using a lightning-quick :26.4 final quarter to do it. Who’s Eyes Blues was third.

“He has been like the top three (trotting colts in our barn),” said Sarah. “So, everything has to, like, follow with the game plan, what they have to do going forward from here. But with this start now in early May, it's of course nice to think about the future.”

Magic Punk returned $4.80 to his backers while raising his lifetime bankroll to just shy of $300,000.

HARD SEVEN A NATURAL IN DEXTER CUP AT BIG M

By Dave Little, Meadowlands Media Relations

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Driver Todd McCarthy wasn’t taking any chances this time around.

After rebounding from an early break before storming home to win from well off the pace in his seasonal debut a week ago, McCarthy put Hard Seven on the lead Saturday night in the Dexter Cup at The Meadowlands, the first significant event for 3-year-old trotters of the year, and the Nancy Takter trainee held off a late charge from My Degenerate to take the $115,500 event in wire-to-wire fashion.

The Dexter Cup was relocated to The Big M this year after previous home Freehold Raceway closed down at the end of 2024.

“He actually started to grow up a lot at the end of last year,” said Takter of the son of Chapter Seven-Whispering Oaks. “He finished with a nice win streak racing in the Kentucky Sire Stakes. He came into this year confident and he’s grown up a bit and I’m kind of really excited about the way he has progressed.”

Hard Seven burst away from the gate from post six in the six-horse field and put 5-2 second choice My Degenerate in the pocket. Hard Seven cut out soft fractions of :27.4, :57.2 and 1:26.4, but despite having things his own way, still gave his backers a scare when My Degenerate came at him quickly approaching the wire, only to come up a small head short. Civilian Drone was third.

Does Takter think Hard Seven can compete at a high level in the Aug. 2 Hambletonian?

“For sure, he’s a quick colt. He definitely knows what this is about,” said the two-time winning Hambletonian trainer. “He fought to the bare tooth when Andy [Miller, driving My Degenerate] was coming at him down the stretch. He’s got all the tools to get there. We just have to have some luck and health on the way and he should be just fine.”

Hard Seven is now five-for-11 lifetime and has lifetime earnings of $176,165 for owners Let It Ride Stables, Maurice Chodash and Boca Racing LLC. As the 2-5 favorite, he returned $2.80 to win after stopping the clock in 1:53.4.

by Ken Weingartner, USTA Media Relations Manager

Sir Pinocchio took the lead from a group of breaking horses on the first turn and held off favorite Blackhawk Zette in the stretch to win Saturday’s $134,900 Dexter Cup for 3-year-old male trotters by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:56.2 at Freehold Raceway. Stockholm Hanover finished third.

Sir Pinocchio, the 2-1 second choice, set fractions of :30.1, :59.3, and 1:28.1 on his way to the victory, his second in two starts this season.

“He raced super,” trainer Ed Hart said about Sir Pinocchio. “There was a lot of mix up in the first turn, and I held my breath there for a minute. They came pretty good the last quarter (:28.1). He’s all right. He’s the real deal.”

Six horses went off stride in the Dexter Cup, with Sir Pinocchio and Blackhawk Zette, who won the Bobby Weiss Series final this past Monday, the only two to remain trotting for the entire mile. Sir Pinocchio and Blackhawk Zette started from posts six and seven, respectively.

“It was kind of a mess in the first turn; I didn’t know what was going on, everybody was blowing up,” winning driver Jason Bartlett said. “We got through the mess and once I got around the first turn, I was pretty happy to be in the spot where I was. I didn’t realize that (Blackhawk Zette) got on my back until going down the backside, so I knew I had a good horse on my back, but (Sir Pinocchio) trotted home well.

“It was a good effort, a good race. Hopefully, he keeps improving like he is. He’s going to be a good horse.”

The triumph continued a run of stakes success for Sir Pinocchio’s family at Freehold. His dam, Lady Cromwell, is a full sister to Lord Cromwell, who won the 2017 Dexter Cup in a still standing stakes-record 1:55. His second dam, Oh Oh Its Magic, won a division of the Lady Suffolk Stakes in 2007.

Those two stakes-winners, who combined to earn more than $932,000 in their careers, were bred and owned by Carolyn Atherton and her husband, Irv, as is Sir Pinocchio.

Sir Pinocchio, a son of stallion Met’s Hall, was a New York Sire Stakes Excelsior Series champion last year. He has hit the board in seven of nine lifetime starts, winning four and earning $123,877.

The gelding is not eligible to August’s Hambletonian but is staked to several other major Grand Circuit races for 3-year-old male trotters, including the Yonkers Trot, Canadian Trotting Classic, and Matron.

“We have high hopes for the young man,” Irv Atherton said earlier in the week. “We can only keep our fingers crossed that he stays healthy. We’ve got the right trainer and the right driver, so everything is good.”

Sir Pinocchio paid $6.20 to win.

Khaosan Road wins Dexter Cup

May 6, 2023, by Ken Weingartner, USTA Media Relations Manager

Khaosan Road went to the front from post one at the start of Saturday’s (May 6) $137,775 Dexter Cup and never relinquished the lead on his way to a one-length win over favorite Espresso in 1:57.4 at Freehold Raceway. Candy Bomber finished third.

Khaosan Road, driven by Scott Zeron, was making his seasonal debut for trainer Ake Svanstedt after a limited 2-year-old campaign. The gelding’s victory in the Dexter, the year’s first Grand Circuit event for 3-year-old male trotters, was his second in five career starts and increased his earnings to $81,697.

“Post one makes it easier for everyone on the half-mile track,” assistant trainer Sarah Svanstedt said. “He was fast, and he behaved. I was surprised he was so good gaited on this small track because he’s a big horse. He fought from the start to the finish, so I’m very happy and pleased with him.”

After taking the lead, Khaosan Road set fractions of :29, :59.1, and 1:28.1. He fended off a first-over challenge from Designer Drink and kept pocket-sitting Espresso at bay down the stretch.

“The trip was good,” said Zeron, who also won a division of the Lady Suffolk Stakes on Saturday at Freehold. “Once we got through the first turn, it looked like we were going to take command of the race. I just stayed with the first-up horse and when it came time down the lane, I asked him and he responded. He was great.”

Khaosan Road is owned by Knutsson Trotting Inc. and Little E LLC. The son of International Moni-Jewels In The Sand was bred by Kelly Duval Lacaille. He is not eligible to the $1 million Hambletonian Stakes at The Meadowlands in August.

“He had some soreness issues last year, so he had fewer starts,” Svanstedt said. “But he’s trained back great. I think he’s grown into his big body and is ready for 2023.”

Khaosan Road, the 3-1 second choice, paid $8.40 to win.

Brave By Design wins Dexter; Little Pink Lies takes Lady Suffolk

May 7, 2022, by Ken Weingartner, USTA Media Relations Manager

Brave By Design braved rain and wind on a chilly afternoon at Freehold Raceway to win Saturday’s (May 7) $150,505 Dexter Cup for 3-year-old male trotters by 1-3/4 lengths over Justice in 1:57.2 over a track labeled sloppy. Pour Mea Double was third.

The top-three finishers were the only horses in the eight-horse field not to go off stride in the race, which was the season’s first Grand Circuit event for 3-year-old male trotters and kicked off the road to the Hambletonian Stakes.

Brave By Design, driven by Joe Bongiorno for trainer Jennifer Bongiorno, is eligible for the $1 million Hambletonian, which is Aug. 6 at The Meadowlands.

Earlier in the day, Little Pink Lies captured the $58,025 Lady Suffolk for 3-year-old female trotters at Freehold. The filly is not eligible for the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks, which is the Hambletonian’s filly companion event.

In the Dexter Cup, Brave By Design grabbed the lead from post two as Grizzly Bare from post three, Bar Coins from post five, and Pretender from post six battled for position around the first turn. Grizzly Bare and 1-5 favorite Pretender went off stride, leaving Brave By Design, Bar Coins, and Justice in the top-three spots in a :29 opening quarter.

Justice, who started from post seven, and driver Ake Svanstedt made their move for the front heading to the half-mile point and cleared Brave By Design to lead as they hit the midpoint in :58.4. Justice remained on top through three-quarters, reached in 1:28, but was unable to hold off Brave By Design in the stretch.

“The race worked out really good,” driver Bongiorno said. “With (Bar Coins) leaving out of there, it had (Pretender) out wide in the first turn and that one went off stride. At that point, I wouldn’t have minded being on the front, but Ake kept coming. I know that horse from racing against him in the New York Sire Stakes last year and he’s a nice horse, so I figured it was OK to follow him.

“Up the backside, it looked like he wasn’t doing it as easy as I thought he would be, so I decided to put a little pressure on him in the last turn and it worked in our favor.”

Brave By Design, who was making his 2022 debut, is owned by the Brave By Design Stable. A son of Walner out of Nuvola, the gelding was bred by Al Libfeld. He has won two of five lifetime starts and earned $98,802.

“He’s Hambletonian eligible, but he’s got to prove a lot more to be that caliber of a horse,” Bongiorno said. “But let’s enjoy today and we’ll worry about tomorrow tomorrow.”

Sent off at odds of 7-1, Brave By Design paid $16.20 to win.

Incommunicado wins Dexter Cup at Freehold

Off an impressive win in last week’s elimination, expectations were high for Incommunicado in Saturday’s $115,583 Dexter Cup final at Freehold Raceway. He lived up to all of them, cruising to an impressive 3-1/2 length win in 1:56.3.

Just like he did in his elimination, Incommunicado drew post position seven in the field of eight. That did not deter the betting public, who made him the 3-5 favorite.

At the start, Yannick Gingras immediately pushed the gas pedal, sending his drive up to the front. Without much trouble, Gingras got him to the lead and the inside at the opening quarter, trotting that split in :28.2.

Incommunicado slowed things down in the second quarter, trotting the opening half-mile in :58.4, but soon encountered first-over pressure from Believer.

Believer moved up to Incommunicado’s throatlatch around the third turn, but Incommunicado held firm and would not let his rival by. Turning for home, he pulled clear and left his rivals in the dust in a final time of 1:56.3. Sunny Crockett, Fifty Ways, Ambassador Hanover, Believer, Chapolier, Credit Con, and Share The Wealth completed the order of finish.

Incommunicado is owned by Knutsson Trotting Inc., Little E, Arthur Geiger, and David Stolz, and trained by Ake Svanstedt. He made waves last year by sweeping the Massachusetts Sire Stakes at Plainridge Park, winning the final by 17-1/4 lengths. Subsequently, he was second in the Matron at Dover Downs by a half-length. For his career, he’s won six times from 12 starts, with earnings of $282,283.

“I wanted to get him in the race and when (Credit Con) made a break in the first turn, it made things a little easier for me.” said Gingras, who won his second straight edition of the Dexter Cup. “I knew (starting from post seven) wasn’t ideal. I knew it was going to be harder than last week, there wasn’t going to be a hole or something like that, but he still did it pretty easy. The horse raced good and did the job. He’s a nice horse. He does everything you ask of him.”