Rich series finals on tap at the Meadowlands

March 20, 2008

Three winter series draw to a close this weekend at the Meadowlands, beginning with the $136,400 Overbid on Friday night and Southwind Tempo, the 2007 Three-Year-Old Filly Pacer of the Year, looms as the one to beat after back-to-back preliminary wins.

She was installed at even-money on the morning line, and will start from post seven with driver John Campbell. Kevin Lare recently added Southwind Tempo to his roster of trainees after Jerry Silva acquired her in a million-dollar deal. Southwind Tempo has won 21of 26 career starts and $922,554.

My Little Dragon is the 5-1 second choice from post five. She nipped Street Dancer at the wire to win the opening round of the Overbid and closed solidly to finish second last week. Noel Daley trains the 5-year-old mare; Ron Pierce will drive. Street Dancer, the Cape and Cutter champion, is the 6-1 third choice from post two for the husband-and-wife team of Andy and Julie Miller.

The Overbid is slated as race five on Friday night.

The $94,000 Four Leaf Clover and $84,000 Matt�s Scooter share the spotlight on Saturday night.

The Buzzy Sholty-trained entry of Artist�s View and Art At Heart received the slight nod as the 2-1 morning line favorite in the Four Leaf Clover, race five. After winning the first round of the Four Leaf Clover, Artist�s View was hampered by the outside post and road trouble in week two. Driver George Brennan will have to overcome post 10 once again with the 4-year-old pacer in Saturday�s final. His stablemate, Art At Heart, also won a preliminary leg of the Four Leaf Clover on March 8, but was never a factor in last week�s second round.

Four Starz Sue, trained by Carmine Fusco, is the 3-1 second choice from post six. The Panderosa gelding has shown significant improvement since going on Lasix, most recently with a decisive 1:50 score.

Mr. Nice Guy earned the role of 5-2 favorite in the Matt�s Scooter with an explosive six-length victory last week. He will start from post three in the tenth race event with Pierce at the lines. The 3-year-old son of Western Ideal set a mark of 1:52.1 as he picked up his first win of the season. Robert Scharf�s Between The Pipes Stable purchased Mr. Nice Guy privately from a California-based partnership on Feb. 28. He was a $33,000 yearling purchase at the Lexington Selected Sale.

The Meadowlands� Saturday night card also features a $50,000 guaranteed Pick 4. Featuring a low 15-percent takeout and guaranteed nightly pools, the Pick 4 has produced payoffs in excess of $10,000 six times since the start of the 2008 meet. The $1 base wager is offered on races six through nine nightly. (Meadowlands)

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