Martha Maxine, Yellow Diamond sparkle at the Meadowlands

February 21, 2009

Driver Andy Miller scored his second straight win in the Cape & Cutter as Martha Maxine motored to a career best 1:50.4 victory in the $87,500 final Friday night at the Meadowlands.

Martha Maxine [$3.80, $2.40, $2.10] sat fourth on the rail until her stablemate, Glory Bee, moved out to challenge Sportsfancy down the backstretch. Miller tipped Martha Maxine off her cover in the stretch and she pulled away by 3 1-4 lengths. Chancey Lady [$4.80, $3.80] and Cuz She Can [$2.20] were second and third, respectively.

�Post one was not the best spot [to start from] because I did not want to get trapped in,� Andy Miller said. �The way it worked out, a couple of them left and then I was able to sit and wait and get some cover. It worked out perfectly. They weren�t going real big fractions [27, 55.2, 1:24], but it took her some time to get there and I just bided my time on the backside there. She just needed a little racetrack because she was ready to take off.�

Andy Miller won the 2008 Cape & Cutter Final for open pacing mares with Street Dancer, trained by his wife, Julie Miller. This time he was in the sulky for his older brother, Erv Miller, who purchased Martha Maxine in partnership with Tony Alagna and Brittany Farms on May 26, 2008.

�We raced her a little as a 4 year old but didn�t stake her to anything,� Erv Miller said. �This year, we�ve tried to stake her and race against some of the better mares. I�m sure she�s better that way [racing off the pace]. She was pretty game last week [on the front] but her best shot would be to come late.�

Martha Maxine, a 5-year-old daughter of Park Place, has now won 17 of 33 career starts and $270,390.

Yellow Diamond picked an opportune time for her first career win in the co-featured $76,000 Tender Loving Care Final for 3-year-old fillies. Driven by David Miller, Yellow Diamond brushed to the lead past the half and romped to a nine-length tally in a stakes record 1:51.3. (Southwind Tempo held the previous record of 1:51.3).

Bulletproof Enterprises� Yellow Diamond paid $7.40 to win her third career start, and first for trainer Casie Coleman. She is a 3-year-old daughter of Western Terror out of the Matt's Scooter mare Mattatonic.

�It�s pretty impressive for her to go that much on her third career start,� said David Miller. �I would�ve liked to follow cover up; she races real good like that. When I landed in fourth, I had to make a move. I wasn�t sure how moving back into the wind would be, but she got there pretty easily. She shows a lot of potential.�

The winter stakes action at the Meadowlands continues Saturday night with the$84,000 Aquarius, $82,500 Junior Trendsetter and $73,800 Exit 16W finals. Post time is 7 p.m. Past performances for the stakes, courtesy of Trackmaster, are available at: http://www.meadowlandsracetrack.com/programPages.asp

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