Mister Big, Dial Or Nodial win qualifiers

Reigning Older Pacer of the Year Mister Big scored a 1:52 qualifying victory Thursday morning at the Meadowlands, with Dial Or Nodial, one of this year’s leading contenders in the sophomore pacing colt class, also coming up with a win in 1:52.3.

For Mister Big, it was his fourth straight win in a qualifier this year—two at Hoosier Park and two at the Meadowlands—as trainer Virgil Morgan Jr. prepares the now son of Grinfromeartoear for his 6-year-old season. Owned by Joe Muscara, Mister Big won 11 of 14 starts last year with $1.5 million in earnings on his way to Dan Patch Award honors as the best of his division.

Dial Or Nodial finished third in his 3-year-old debut last week in a Big M qualifier. The son of Western Ideal was driven by Tim Tetrick for trainer Jim Campbell to the wire-to-wire victory in 1:52.3. Last year’s Breeders Crown champion, Well Said, finished a length back in second.

In the first of the 14 qualifying races, leading older trotting mare Lavec Dream posted a 1:55.2 victory for driver Ron Pierce and trainer-owner Peter Kleinhans. Finishing second in that race was Canada’s 2007 Two-Year-Old Colt Trotter of the Year Windsong Espoir, who was winless last year in six starts after a freshman campaign in which he won nine of 10 starts and more than $700,000.

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