Mach Three and McArdle continued their drive down the
"Road to the Little
Brown Jug" with impressive victories in divisions of the $282,500 Oliver
Wendell Holmes 3YO Pace Saturday at The Meadowlands.
The $650,000-est Little Brown Jug will be raced for
the 57th time on
Thursday afternoon, September 19 at the Delaware, Ohio County Fair.
McArdle, trained by Chris Ryder and driven by
Mike Lachance, won in
1:49, matching the stakes and track record for 3-year-old pacing colts
set
in 2001 by Real Desire. In the second division Mach Three was an easy
winner
in 1:49.2 for John Campbell and trainer Monte Gelrod/Bill Robinson.
McArdle, who will race in next week's $500,000
Hoosier Cup, is not
eligible to the 57th Little Brown Jug but the Falcon Seelster colt's
owners
plan to supplement him into the Jug if he wins the Cane Pace on
September 2
at Freehold Raceway.
McArdle, who had not raced since finishing second to
Mach Three in the
$1-million Meadowlands Pace on July 13, looked fresh in winning for the
se
venth time in 11 starts this year. Stablemate Art Major finished second
over Soho. The victory also pushed McArdle's earnings to $1,007,238.
Mach Three, who had Post 8, drove to the top, briefly
stepping
three-wide, and held enough in reserve to withstand all challenges. The
Matt's Scooter colt defeated Royal Mattjesty and Image Of Dawn for his
ninth
victory in 11 starts this year and the winner's share of the purse
pushed his
earnings over the $2 million mark.
The $400,000 Adios Pace is also on next week's
schedule along with the
Hoosier Cup. Next up will be the Review on August 13 at the Illinois
State
Fair; the Horseman on August 17 at the Indiana State Fair; and the
Confederation Cup on August 18 at Flamboro Downs.
