Ideal Weather rallies at Meadowlands for 1:50.4 victory

Ideal Weather rallied off a pocket trip to win the $75,000 Thomas Strada Memorial, a race marred by a minor accident, on Saturday night at the Meadowlands.

Driver Yannick Gingras made an early bid with Ideal Weather before yielding to Stylish Solution in a brisk :54.1 half.  Ideal Weather easily brushed past the tiring leader in the stretch and held off Enhance The Night for a 1 1/4-length victory in 1:50.4.  She paid $11.40 to win the fifth race.

The accident occurred as the field approached the final turn.  Artcotic, sitting second-over, stumbled and unseated driver Brian Sears, causing Guestimate and Ron Pierce to crash into her from behind.  KG Katriona and John Campell, who were to Artcotic's inside, were also tangled up in the incident.  The three reinsmen were cleared to driver the remainder of the Saturday card.  All three mares were treated for varying degrees of lacerations and reported to be in stable condition.

Trained by the father-and-son team of Ron and Mickey Burke, Ideal Weather has now won 19 of 63 career starts and $640,000.

"Ron [Burke] is always looking for races and he did a good job finding this race for her," said winning driver Yannick Gingras.  "That was definitely an easier spot than the Betsy Ross [a stakes race at Harrah's Chester] would have been tomorrow.  She's come a long way from her 2-year-old season.  They've done a tremendous job with her, managing her.  She's a very, very nice mare.  She'll be around all year.  You'll see her in all the big races."

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