Gingras masters Miss Versatility legs

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Yannick Gingras used a familiar tactic to perfection Saturday night, as his front-end driving excellence paid off big time while guiding both harness racing winners of the first leg of the Miss Versatility for open mare trotters at The Meadowlands.

In the opening $30,000 split, Gingras fired Walspea, a 4-year-old daughter of Walner-Speak To Me, to the top from the start from post five in the five-horse field (there was one scratch) and cut out fractions of :28.1, :57.1 and 1:25.2 on the way to an easy 2¼-length score in a lifetime-best-equaling 1:53 despite the sloppy conditions.

WALSPEA REPLAY

Bravo Angel S, the 3-5 favorite, rallied for second while never threatening the winner. Highlandstarburst was third.

“I thought she’d be ready (for this),” said winning trainer Trond Smedshammer. “One qualifier and one start, which I was very happy with. I thought she had a very good chance off those fractions. The favorite had a lot of work to do to catch her.”

As the 8-1 fourth choice in the wagering, Walspea returned $18.80 to win while racking up her eighth lifetime victory in 23 tries to lift her earnings to just over $300,000.

Miracle Maven’s walk in the park in the second division featured fractions of :28.4, :57.1 and 1:26.3 in the field of six, before a final quarter sprint of :27.3 sealed the deal by 1½ lengths over 35-1 longest-shot-on-the-board Bourbonista S in 1:54.1. Conversano, the 2025 Hambletonian Oaks champion, finished third.

“I thought she was much better last week (when a close-up second to Bravo Angel S),” said Gingras. “But she got the job done. She’s a nice mare.”

A 4-year-old daughter of Don’t Let’em-Bad Babysitter who is trained by Ron Burke, Miracle Maven recorded her 14^th career win from just 25 starts, good for earnings of $553,452. As the 1-5 favorite, she returned $2.60 to win.

MIRACLE MAVEN REPLAY

A LITTLE MORE: Gingras, Dexter Dunn and Jason Bartlett tied atop the driver leaderboard with three victories apiece. … Per Engblom was the top trainer with three winners. … John Skladany made a $200 win bet on Trillion Times in the 15^th race, and when the horse won and paid $8.20, that vaulted Skladany to the top of the standings in the $1,000 Meadowlands Monthly Handicapping Contest. Skladany finished with a bankroll of $1,031, well clear of second-place finisher James Molina, who ended the night with $800. The duo have now each earned a spot in the Dec. 12 contest finale, which offers a prize pool of $10,000. … All-source wagering on the 15-race program totaled $2,557,791. … Racing resumes Friday at 6:35 p.m.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

by Dave Little, for The Meadowlands