In Range was one of the top trotting male freshmen last year, and the Hambletonian eligible was looking to kick off a huge sophomore campaign in Saturday’s $150,507 Pennsylvania Sires Stake at The Meadows. But midway down the backside, he was passed by local favourite Jujubee. How would he respond?
Quite nicely, thank you. In Range overtook Jujubee in mid-stretch and scored in 1:52.3, matching the stake record established by Valley Of Sin in 2013.
The stake, known as the Hickory Smoke, was contested over three divisions, with Whiskey Blu and Johan Palema taking the other splits.
Marcus Melander, who trains In Range for AMG Stable, Kenneth Kjellgren, Tomas Ansell and Rick Wahlstedt, said he wasn’t overly concerned when the son of Bar Hopping-Ilia yielded the lead to the local upstart.