Lucky Jim, Vertical Horizon win

July 05, 2009

The winning streak is now 14 races for Lucky Jim, who took the longest route to victory in the $203,000 Titan Cup Saturday night at the Meadowlands.

Driver Andy Miller angled Lucky Jim off the pylons early and the trotter gradually worked his way up to the wheel of the leader Lanson entering the far turn. Lucky Jim [$3.00, $2.20, $2.10] responded when called upon and soared past Lanson [$6.20, $3.80] for a 1 1-2-length tally in 1:51.4. Corleone Kosmos [$2.10] shook loose late to finish third.

�He�s just such a professional,� Andy Miller said. �He just sits out there and as soon as I give him his cue to go, he just takes off. One thing he still has is that attitude. He absolutely loves to win and that�s his big asset.�

Twelve of Lucky Jim�s 14 victories this season have been at the Meadowlands. He captured the $200,000 Arthur J. Cutler Memorial and $123,000 Su Mac Lad earlier in the season. Miller�s wife, Julie, trains Lucky Jim for David and John Prushnok of Punxsutawney, PA and William Gregg of Indiana, PA.

�As long as he�s racing well and performing the best he can, I can�t get caught up in statistics,� Julie said of the pressure to keep the trotter�s streak in tact.

In his final tune-up for the Meadowlands Pace, Vertical Horizon breezed to a 1:51.2 victory in the $85,033 Jersey Cup for 3-year-old pacers. With David Miller in tow, Vertical Horizon assumed command past the opening quarter and never looked back en route to a 4 1-4-length victory over Midnight Gambol.

�After the scratches [of Passmaster Hanover and Haroun Hanover], I thought he had a real good shot,� Miller said. �I got to the front, he got to rate his own mile and he had plenty left. He would be competitive [in the Pace elims], that�s for sure. I watched the horse race in the NJ Classic Final and he had the outside and closed up real well. He�s a quality horse.�

The colt was part of a three-horse entry trained by Bernie Noren, who also picked up checks with Drink Up (third) and Amazon Art (fifth), in a field scratched down to just five starters. Bulletproof Enterprises� Vertical Horizon scored just his second career win in his fourteenth start. The son of Western Ideal will face his toughest test yet in the July 11 eliminations for the $1 million Meadowlands Pace.

The Titan and Jersey Cups marked the conclusion of Historic Week at the Meadowlands, the first of the Grand Circuit�s two summer stops at the track. (Meadowlands)

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