First-time stakes winners Meeker Avenue and Kelli Got Frosty highlighted Sunday's duo of the New York Stallion Series Stakes at Aqueduct for two-year-olds.
MeB Racing Stables and Brooklyn Boyz Stables' Meeker Avenue captured the $125,000 Great White Way Division of the New York Stallion Series as the heavy 3-5 favorite. The two-year-old gelding tracked early leader Stoneless, who posted fractions of :21 4/5 and :45 1/5. Meeker Avenue made his move along the inside, winning by only a nose over Laila's Jazz in a photo finish with Ramon Dominguez aboard. The Dominick Schettino trainee covered six furlongs over the fast main track in a final time of 1:10 4/5.
"He's still maturing and learning," Schettino said. "He'll get better with more racing. He was in tight the whole way. It's a learning process, but he ran a hell of a race."
Two lengths farther back in third was Petrocelli. Here Comes Tommy, Stoneless and Madam I'm Adam rounded out the order of finish. Patriot Class was scratched.
Meeker Avenue broke his maiden in his first start back in September. The bay gelding is now a perfect two-for-two in his short career and has lifetime earnings of $112,440.
The son of Read the Footnotes is out of the Silver Deputy mare Age of Silver, who is a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Timely Broad. Meeker Avenue is a half-brother to Grade 3-placed stakes victress Age of Humor. Also coming from this family is Wise Times, who captured the 1986 editions of the Grade 1 Travers and Haskell Invitational.
Kelli Got Frosty was victorious in the $125,000 Fifth Avenue Division of the New York Stallion Series for juvenile fillies. P J's Superego attempted to go gate-to wire, posting fractions of :22 2/5, :45 4/5 and :57 4/5, but was run down at the end by the Rudy Rodriguez-trained two-year-old filly. Kelli Got Frosty covered the six furlongs in 1:09 4/5 while victorious by a half-length.
Coming in third another eight lengths behind P J's Superego was Nonnie Connie. Matchmadeinheaven, Jerusalem Stone, Zekes Surprise and Gee Linz completed the order under the wire.
The Frost Giant filly broke her maiden by 14 lengths two starts ago and was exiting a third-place finish in the Joseph A. Gimma at Belmont last time out. Kelli Got Frosty now sports a career line which reads 4-2-0-1, $127,944.
Owned by Andrew Cohen, Lee Sacks, Aubrey Flanagan and Gary Tolchin, Kelli Got Frosty is out of the unraced Jump Start mare Nick's Honor. This is the same family as Rightly So, winner of the Grade 1 Ballerina in 2010.
