Odds-on choice Meeker Avenue nosed out Laila's Jazz at the wire and Kelli Got Frosty got up in the final strides as they won their respective divisions of the New York Stallion Stakes for 2-year-olds Nov. 11 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Sent off as the 3-5 choice in the $125,000 Great White Way division (VIDEO), Meeker Avenue was hemmed in along the rail in second as Stoneless opened up a four-length lead while setting opening fractions of :21.95 and :45.33. Prompted by jockey Ramon Dominguez turning for home, the gelded son of Read the Footnotes darted through a narrow opening inside Laila's Jazz and prevailed after a hard-fought battle through the final furlong.
Meeker Avenue's winning time for the six furlongs was 1:10.96 as he earned his second victory in as many starts.
"He's still maturing and learning," said Dominick Schettino, who trains Meeker Avenue for MeB Racing Stables and Brooklyn Boyz Stables. "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."
Meeker Avenue, who earned $75,000, returned $3.20 for a $2 win bet. Laila's Jazz finished second, two lengths better than Petrocelli in third.
Bred in New York by Fred W. Hertrich III, the bay is out of Age of Silver, by Silver Deputy, and sold for $135,000 as a yearling at Saratoga in August 2011.
In the $125,000 Fifth Avenue division (VIDEO) for juvenile fillies, Kelli Got Frosty drew alongside even-money P J's Superego inside the final sixteenth and prevailed by a half-length for her second win in four starts.
A bay daughter of Frost Giant , whose 2008 Suburban Handicap victory gave winning trainer Rudy Rodriguez his lone grade I score as a jockey, Kelli Got Frosty completed the six furlongs in 1:09.91.
"I tried to take my time before I made my move," said winning jockey Joel Rosario. "She's a pretty horse and she does everything right."
The beaten favorite in the Joseph A. Gimma last time out, Kelli Got Frosty returned $10.60 for a $2 win bet and earned $75,000 for owners Andrew Cohen, Lee Sacks, Aubrey Flanagan, and Gary Tolchin.
Cohen bred the winner in New York. She is out of the Jump Start mare Nick's Honor.
P J's Superego was eight lengths clear of third-place finisher Nonnie Connie.
Kelli Got Frosty wins a division of the New York Stallion Stakes.
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