‘Girl Power’ displayed at Big M

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – After finishing fifth on Hambletonian Day in the Dr. John Steele Memorial as the 6-5 harness racing favorite, Elista Hanover (International Moni) had lost some of the shine she had acquired after winning her prior two outings, the E.T. Gerry Jr. Hambletonian Maturity and Miss Versatility.

But after a brilliant performance Friday night in the inaugural $117,500 Girl Power for 4-to-6-year-old trotting mares, Elista Hanover’s sparkle is back.

ELISTA HANOVER REPLAY

“It’s very exciting, very exciting,” said winning trainer Annie Stoebe. “You know, she raced really hard those two starts, and I think she was just a little bit tired [in the Steele], so I took advantage of her schedule and gave her a week off, and she seemed to be very happy about that tonight.”

M-M’s Dream, who won the Steele for a third straight year, was away from the gate quickly from the rail in the seven-horse field while 2-5 favorite Warrawee Michelle raced in the pocket. Dave Miller used Elista Hanover early and worked his way into the three hole as M-M’s Dream cut out fractions of :28.2 and :57.

Moving around the far turn, Warrawee Michelle vacated the pocket to go after the leader as ‘Elista’ followed that move while M-M’s Dream took them past three-quarters in 1:25.

Closing from a tough spot, Elista Hanover tipped off cover, charged down the stretch in the three path and got up on the wire to win by a neck over a determined M-M’s Dream, who out-gamed third-place finisher Warrawee Michelle to the wire. The time for the mile was 1:52.2.

“I was laughing in the last turn because she was trying to tell Dave it was time to pull and I saw him fighting with her and I knew she was going to be ready in the stretch,” said Stoebe. “I tell you what, though, trying to catch [Warrawee Michelle] proved to be pretty tough, but she got the job done.”

Elista Hanover, a 4-year-old daughter of International Moni-Evermore, returned $11 to win as the 9-2 third choice in the wagering. She’s now won 16 of 36 lifetime starts for owners R. Lynn & Philomena P. Curry and Stoebe, and now has earnings of $869,008.

YO TILLIE ROLLS A SEVEN: Yo Tillie, the top 3-year-old trotting filly in training, stayed perfect in seven seasonal starts after taking the first of two eliminations of the New Jersey Classic in 1:52. As the 1-2 favorite, she returned $3 to win.

“She was awesome in her last start [in the Delmonica Hanover] and she showed up again tonight,” said winning driver Todd McCarthy. “She’s so fun to sit behind. [Trainer] Andrew [Harris] has her going spot on right now.”

A daughter of Tactical Landing-Consolidator, Yo Tillie has now won 10 in a row dating back to last year, and has 15 wins from just 19 lifetime outings.

A LITTLE MORE: Scott Zeron led the driver colony with three winners on the night. … Noel Daley’s two jaunts down victory lane paced the trainers. … All-source handle on the 14-race program totaled $2,568,160. … Racing resumes Saturday at 6:20 p.m. with PIX11’s Marc Malusis joining Little on the Sam McKee Memorial Broadcast Set.

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

by Dave Little, for The Meadowlands