Flex The Muscle Wins Charles I. Smith Trot
Flex The Muscle extended his winning streak to four and
posted a stakes record in the $80,000 Charles I. Smith Trot, the
featured second race on Friday, September 10 at Freehold
Raceway.
Driver David Miller moved
Flex The Muscle quickly to the lead, held it at every call,
and they drew off to a four and three-quarter length victory
over Flashback (by Classic Photo) with Andy Miller and Jetblue
Volo (Yankee Glide) with Cat Manzi.
Flex The Muscle, a three-year-old son of Muscles Yankee,
trotted the mile in 1:55.4, erasing the previous stakes record
of 1:57 established in 2007 by Princetonian. The time of the
mile was just one-fifth of a second off the three-year-old
trotting colt track record held by Keystone Activator and Anders
Bluestone.
In August, Flex The Muscle, trained by Ray Schnittker, swept
two preliminary legs and the $100,000 final of New Jersey Sire
Stakes at Freehold. He now has six wins and three seconds in 14
starts this year.
The victory pushed his career bankroll of $383,949 for
Schnittker and his partners, Jerry Silva of Long Beach, New York
and Arden Homestead Stable of Delhi, New York.
Sponsored by the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association
of New Jersey, the Charles I. Smith was named in memory of a New
Jersey harness racing pioneer, founder of the New Jersey Sire
Stakes program and owner of trotters.
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