Melander Has Top Two Spots in Ken Warkentin's Road to the Hambletonian Week 9
Week Nine– July 22
The 2021 Hambletonian will take place Saturday, August 7
East Rutherford, NJ – Dancinginthedark M and Sonofamistery, both Marcus Melander trainees, are 1-2 in week 9 of the Road to the Hambletonian by Ken Warkentin. All things Hambletonian can be found at TheHambo.com #Hambo21
1 | Dancinginthedark M
Off an impressive 1:51.4 Reynolds division he reeled off the fastest trotting mile of 2021, a 1:50.1 Stanley Dancer division, Melander: “He’s really a super horse, very strong and really fast, but what makes him so great he can keep that speed a long, long time.”
| Stanley Dancer | M1 Prep | Reynolds |
2 | Sonofamistery
Wire-to-wire in a 3YO Open @ Big M in 1:51.2 on June 11, rebounded off late breaks in two consecutive starts & took a mark 1:50.2 from post seven in the slop in a Dancer division
| M1 Prep|
3 | Johan Palema
1:53.2 PASS winner in his 3YO debut @ The Meadows, won a Yonkers Trot elimination in 1:54.1, wire-to-wire in Final (1:55 in slop), took a mark of 1:50.4 in a Big M overnight on July 16
4 | Venerate
Dan Patch Award winner rebounded with a gutsy post nine 1:52.1 score in the slop in the Reynolds, then broke in the first turn in the second Dancer division, post seven in Tompkins-Geers on July 24
| Reynolds | Qualifier | 2nd Qualifier |
5 | In Range
PASS winner in 1:52.3 @ The Meadows in his 3YO debut, third in Yonkers Trot elimination/Final, third to Johan Palema from post seven in a Big M overnight on July 16
| PA Sire Stakes |
6 | Captain Corey
2YO PASS champion took a new mark of 1:53 in his 2021 debut, rebounded off a break with a sharp 1:53 Big M qualifier on July 10, second to Sonofamistery in a Dancer division
7 | Delayed Hanover
1:53.4 Bluegrass winner at two, won his first two 3YO starts in PASS, 1:53 @ Pocono & 1:55 @ Phl, set the pace & finished second to Dancinginthedark M in the first Dancer division
8 | Take All Comers
1:53.2 PASS upsetter @ Phl on June 23, second (1:52) in a Reynolds division in rainy conditions on July 10, disqualified from third to sixth for interference in a Dancer division
9 | Cuatro De Julio
1:53.1 NJSS division winner in his 3YO debut, second (1:52.2) in the NJSS Final, freshened with a month off & finished third in the second Dancer division
10 | Ambassador Hanover
Won his 3YO debut @ Vernon Downs in 1:53, second in the EBC & Yonkers Trot elimination & Final, 1:55.3 NYSS winner @ Yonkers on July 13, post six in Tompkins-Geers on July 24
KEY PREP RACES
Hambletonian Eligibles in Caps
| Date | Stakes | Site | Winner | Driver | Trainer | 2nd Horse | 3rd Horse | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1 | Dexter Cup | Fhld | Incommunicado | Yannick Gingras | Ake Svanstedt | Sunny Crockett | Fifty Ways | 1:56.3 |
| May 14 | NJSS | M | CUATRO DE JULIO | Lucas Wallin | Marie Ortolan Bar | MON AMOUR | LOCATELLI | 1:53.1 |
| May 14 | NJSS | M | LINDYSMUSCLEMANIA | Dexter Dunn | Ake Svanstedt | REALLY FAST | BEE FOREVER | 1:51.4 |
| May 14 | NJSS | M | Narzario | Ake Svanstedt | Ake Svanstedt | KILDARE KING | CRICKET FASHION | 1:53 |
| May 15 | PASS | Mea | Whiskey Blue | Dan Charlino | Ron Burke | Capstone | Mister Boinga | 1:53.4 |
| May 15 | PASS | Mea | IN RANGE | Tim Tetrick | Marcus Melander | Jujubee | Lepanto | 1:52.3 |
| May 15 | PASS | Mea | JOHAN PALEMA | Ake Svanstedt | Ake Svanstedt | ARNOLD N DICKY | TAKE ALL COMERS | 1:53.2 |
| May 21 | NJSS | M | LOCATELLI | Yannick Gingras | Nancy Takter | SONOFAMISTERY | CRICKET FASHION | 1:52.4 |
| May 21 | NJSS | M | MON AMOUR | Yannick Gingras | Ake Svanstedt | CUATRO DE JULIO | KILDARE KING | 1:52 |
| May 28 | NJSS Final | M | REALLY FAST | Yannick Gingras | Nancy Takter | CUATRO DE JULIO | SONOFAMISTERY | 1:52.2 |
| May 31 | PASSl | PcD | Jujubee | Tony Hall | Greg Wright JrNancy Takter | Capstone | Ceffyl Dwr | 1:54.4 |
| May 31 | PASS | PcD | CAPTAIN COREY | Ake Svanstedt | Ake Svanstedt | Lepanto | Fifty Ways | 1:53.4 |
| May 31 | PASSl | PcD | DELAYED HANOVER | Ake Svanstedt | Ake Svanstedt | Johan Palema | Type A | 1:53 |
| June 11 | Prep | 3YO Open | SONOFAMISTERY | Brian Sears | Marcus Melander | CALLE PALEMA | IN RANGE | 1:51.2 |
| June 23 | PASS | Phi | DELAYED HANOVER | Ake Svanstedt | Ake Svanstedt | Jujubee | TYPE A | 1:55 |
| June 23 | PASS | Phl | TAKE ALL COMERS | David Miller | Jim Campbell | GOODASHIM | FLY LIGHT | 1:53.2 |
| July 10 | Reynolds | M | DANCINGINTHEDARK | Tim Tetrick | Marcus Melander | TAKE ALL COMERS | ZENITH STRIDE | 1:51.4 |
| July 10 | Reynolds | M | VENERATE | Andy Miller | Julie Miller | SONOFAMISTERY | JULIE MILLER | 1:52.1 |
| July 13 | NYSS | YR | AMBASSADOR HANOVER | Ake Svanstedt | Ake Svanstedt | Credit Con | Steel | 1:55.3 |
| July 17 | Dancer | M | ||||||
| July 17 | Dancer | M | ||||||
| July 23 | PASS | Mea | ||||||
| July 24 | Tompkins-Geers | M | ||||||
| July 31 | Hambo Eliminations | M |
