Smedshammer sweeps elims

Trainer Trond Smedshammer has won five of the last six Trotting Triple Crown races and with his Mr. Pine Chip and Here Comes Herbie both winning their respective $100,000 Hambletonian eliminations on a hot and steamy Saturday at the Meadowlands, he appears poised to win another.

Mr. Pine Chip, driven by Brian Sears, captured the opening elim with a 1:53.4 effort. Sears got away in mid pack and then tipped behind the cover of Glidemaster and driver John Campbell as they ranged up first-over toward the leading Global Glide (Ron Pierce). Mr. Pine Chip trotted by the leaders down the stretch and reached the wire three-quarters of a length in front of Glidemaster, with the Smedshammer-trainee Blue Mac Lad (George Brennan) third.

Global Glide finished fourth with Algiers Hall (John Stark Jr.) fifth to earn a spot in the $1.5 million Hambletonian final Saturday afternoon, Aug. 5.

Joe Sbrocco bred the winner and shares ownership with Southwind Farm. The win was the son of SJ''s Caviar's sixth in as many starts this year.

"He has all wins this year so he knows how to get it done," said Sears in the winner's circle.

"He's a horse that knows where the wire is," added Smedshammer.

Smedshammer was in the sulky behind Here Comes Herbie as that one led wire to wire to win the second elim in a career-best 1:52. Chocolatier (D.R. Ackerman) rallied from sixth in the seven-horse field around the final turn, turning a seven-length deficit in mid stretch to just one diminishing length at the wire. Berto Prime (Pierce) was third, followed by Capetown Hall (David Miller) and Race Fan (Stephen Smith).

"I took a chance and tried to put everybody in a hole," Smedshammer explained in the winner's circle of his front-end strategy. "I figured I'd get a jump on (Chocolatier), but the last sixteenth (Here Comes Herbie) was slowing down."

The Cutting Edge Stable owns Here Comes Herbie, who won for the third time in five starts this year.

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