Call this Meadows winner irresistible

Irresistible Mel, who hadn't won in five 2009 starts, converted a determined first-over bid to victory in the opening leg of the Big TARP, a late-closing series for 3- and 4-year-old colt and gelding trotters, on Monday at The Meadows. KT Me Me and Foggy Lane K captured other $12,000 series divisions.

Irresistible Mel earned a check in each of those previous races, but the initial win proved elusive for the 4-year-old gelded son of S J's Photo-Irresistible Lady. In the Big TARP, he waited patiently until Aaron Merriman cut him loose near the three-quarter pole. Irresistible Mel brushed by the leader, SJ's Caliente, and went on to defeat that rival by 1 1/4 lengths in 1:58.2. Alternat Thursdays was third. John Melsheimer trains Irresistible Mel for Mel Rose Stable.

The Meadows this week kicks off four late-closing series--all bearing financial or stock market-related names. Included are the Opening Bell, the Closing Bell and the Early Call. TARP, of course, is the acronym for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the formal name for the federal government's financial institution rescue plan. (The Meadows)

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