Shark Gesture holds on in Haughton prep

Shark Gesture held on to win the $50,000 William R. Haughton Memorial Prep for free for all pacers Friday night at Meadowlands Racetrack.

 

George Brennan guided Shark Gesture to victory in 1:49, holding off a late rally from Won The West. The four-year-old son of Cam’s Card Shark-Simple Gesture has earned nearly $2.5 million lifetime for trainer Larry Remmen and owners Norman Smiley of Boca Raton, FL, Gerald Smiley of Montreal, Quebec and T L P Stable of Kearny, NJ. His full brother, Shark Ingested, finished second in the Woodrow Wilson elimination earlier in the night. Shark Gesture paid $3.40 to win.

 

“There was a short field and we got lucky enough to get a soft half,” said Brennan. “Usually he’s getting down there in :53 and change but he really appreciated the :55 half tonight. 1:49 tonight is a good mile. It’s cool out, with a little wind coming at you in the top of the lane. I certainly did [want to keep Foiled Again boxed in]. I don’t trust Foiled Again, he always gives a top effort and if he gets through there, he may go zooming by. I had to keep him in and I’m glad I had him where he was.”

 

The $702,500 William R. Haughton Memorial Final will be contested closing night of the meet, Friday, August 20.

 

Eliminations for the Woodrow Wilson for two-year-old colts and geldings and the Sweetheart final for two-year-old fillies were also featured tonight.

 

Under the guidance of Ron Pierce, Powerful Mist captured his second win in three starts in the $20,000 Woodrow Wilson elimination. The race went in 1:51.4. The two-year-old colt was a $27,000 yearling purchase from the Winbak Select Yearling Sale in Maryland. The son of Powerful Toy-Misty Speed is owned by Legacy Racing of Seaford, DE, Neil Gargiulo of Milford, DE and Louie Paglierani of Valrico, FL. Wayne Givens trains the colt. Also advancing to the $473,000 final next Friday are Shark Ingested, Line Officer, Arockin Hanover, Mcsocks, On The Radar and Roll’em Up who finished in the top seven respectively. Fashion Delight, Grams Legacy and Rollwithitharry earned byes into the final.

 

In the $20,000 Sweetheart elimination, Shyaway paced to victory in 1:52.3, with Brian Sears in the sulky, to advance to the $402,400 Final next week. The daughter of Artscape-Armbro Berlin is now 2-3 lifetime for trainer Chris Ryder. She was a $20,000 yearling purchase from the Lexington Selected Sale for owner Brittany Farms of Versailles, KY. The first eight finishers advancing to the final with Shyaway are Ladystar, Honky Tonk Woman, Mothermayi Hanover, Rocklamation, Myluvmylife, Ms Malicious and Cndiana Jones. Show And Tell and Ace of Pace will join the top eight finishers after receiving byes into the final. (Meadowlands)