Command Center and Eastie Boy deliver championship double

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Command Center (Gimpanzee) sustained a first-over attack and inherited the lead in mid-stretch en route to victory in the Grade 1 $383,830 Valley Victory, for 2-year-old male trotters, while Eastie Boy (Sweet Lou) remained resolute in Hades’ crosshairs to capture the Grade 1 $300,000 Governor’s Cup, for 2-year-old male pacers, on Saturday (Nov. 14) at the Meadowlands.

In the Valley Victory, Command Center and driver Dexter Dunn got away third from the pole as 3-5 favorite Bentley Blue Chip (driven by Yannick Gingras) controlled early splits of :27.4 and :56 with Gustav Vasa (Brett Beckwith) tracking tightly from the pocket. With three-eighths of the mile remaining, Command Center took aim first-over and applied steady pressure to Bentley Blue Chip through the 1:24.3 three-quarters. In upper stretch, it appeared as though Bentley Blue Chip would rebuff his outside challenger, but Command Center took over the lead at the sixteenth pole when Bentley Blue Chip broke stride, and he evaded runner-up Gustav Vasa by 3-1/4 lengths for a career-best 1:53.1 win.

COMMAND CENTER REPLAY

Seven Pledges (Jason Bartlett) rallied from last to finish fourth, and was elevated to third over the breaking Bentley Blue Chip.

“He’s always been a fast horse,” said Marcus Melander, who trains three-time winner Command Center as well as Gustav Vasa. “He’s a June foal, so we kept him in Kentucky and raced him easy. Then, he got a little sick after the Grand Circuit (at the Red Mile) and missed the Breeders Crown, so we figured we’d go for this race, and it played out good.”

A son of Gimpanzee out of the Muscle Hill mare Mission Brief, Command Center was purchased for $500,000 by S R F Stable, Holly Lane Stud East and Steve Stewart from breeder Mission Brief Stable and has earned $325,096 from seven starts this season. As the 8-5 second choice, he paid $5.20 to win and led a Melander-trained exacta that paid $28.80.

The Governor’s Cup saw 3-5 favorite Eastie Boy and driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. follow up their 1:50.1 win in the Grade 2 Matron Stakes at Bally’s Dover with an identical clocking over the Big M’s one-mile oval.

After getting away third behind a :27.2 first-quarter duel between Seine (Joe Bongiorno) and Billy Hill (Todd McCarthy), Wrenn brushed Eastie Boy to the fore upon reaching the backstretch, and the pair were met by a stern first-over challenge from Hades (Tim Tetrick) through middle fractions of :55.2 and 1:22.1. while Seine drafted from the pocket. Turning for home, Wrenn asked Eastie Boy for all he had, and the Sweet Lou-Rockin Racer colt dug in through a :28 closing sectional to keep Hades a half length at bay.

EASTIE BOY REPLAY

Seine finished a one-paced third.

“As the year progressed, he got better and better and he peaked at the right time,” said Wrenn, who drove Eastie Boy for trainer Ron Burke. “The last couple months, he’s been in top form, and he showed it tonight. He was awesome tonight.”

“His last three starts, he got really good,” said Phil Collura, who shares ownership in the homebred Eastie Boy with Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi. “I thought in the Breeders Crown if he got out a little earlier he would have won, but he was smoking late. He’s just been getting better and better all the time.

“It’s always fun when they’re homebreds — Louprint and now this one. It’s been a great run.”

Eastie Boy, now a six-time winner who has earned $788,932 from 13 starts, paid $3.20 to win.

A LITTLE MORE: Yannick Gingras, Dexter Dunn and Big M leading driver Brett Beckwith all won three races on the night to lead the driver colony. Gingras and Dunn combined to take six of the eight big stakes events on the program. … Ron Burke and Marcus Melander topped the trainers with a pair of walks down victory lane apiece. … Stefan Ferrara and Patrick O’Malley finished 1-2 in the 11^th and final leg of the $1,000 Meadowlands Monthly Handicapping Contest. Ferrara finished the night with a bankroll of $461 and will have four entries in the $10,000 invitation-only contest final on Dec. 12 having won twice and finishing second twice in the qualifiers. O’Malley, who had a final bankroll of $432, will have three entries in the final. … All-source handle on the 14-race program totaled $2,613,275. … Racing resumes Friday at 6:20 p.m.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results

by James Witherite, for the Breeders Crown