Darlin's Delight takes series finale for pacing mares at Big M

Darlin’s Delight ($5.80) held off the late rally of Chancey Lady to win the $123,000 Overbid final for open pacing mares Friday night at the Meadowlands.

An early scramble forced 6-5 favorite Martha Maxine three wide on the opening turn as she claimed the lead from Chancey Lady in :27.4. Darlin’s Delight rushed up to seize command from Martha Maxine in a swift 54.4 and driver Yannick Gingras promptly slowed the tempo as they approached the final turn. Martha Maxine broke stride behind them, leaving Chancey Lady the only one within striking distance as they entered the top of the lane. However, Chancey Lady could not catch Darlin’s Delight as she edged away to a 1 3/4-length tally in 1:50.2. Cuz She Can was the best of the rest.

“I was trying to get Andy (Miller and Martha Maxine) behind me,” Gingras said. “I didn’t know which plan was going to work. I had a plan to go to the front but I really didn’t want to have Andy in front of me. His mare’s sprint is probably as good as mine. I figured this race would turn into a sprint race and I wanted to have him behind me. Obviously, that didn’t work out.  He beat me going to the front, but we’re in the winner’s circle now. 

“(Past the half) I was trying to get a breather, trying to slow down,” he continued. “I heard Andy screaming that his mare was making a break. From there, I figured the field was getting scattered so I just took off. I heard John (Campbell) coming around the last turn. I was worried about (Chancey Lady) because it was first time Lasix tonight and she’s a good mare, but my mare just dug in.”

White Birch Farm’s Darlin’s Delight, trained by Jeff Stafford, surpassed $2.6 million in career earnings and improved her impressive career slate to 28 wins in 61 starts. (Meadowlands)

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