Captain Optimistic makes it happen in Governor’s Cup

Following a third-place finish in the Metro Pace and a fourth-place effort in the Breeders Crown, Captain Optimistic put it all together with a powerful two-move mile to win the $382,200 Governor’s Cup, for 2-year-old male pacers, on Saturday (Nov. 30) at the Meadowlands.

After being looped on the first turn by 50-1 long shot Papi’s Rocket (driven by George Brennan), Captain Optimistic and driver Dexter Dunn forged to the front at the end of a :27.2 first quarter before stringing out Papis Pistol (Andy Miller) to the :54.3 half-mile juncture. Only a few strides after releasing Papis Pistol, Captain Optimistic angled out of the pocket to ensure clear sailing for the final three-eighths of the mile. The Captaintreacherous-Cinamony colt ground forward at the flank of Papis Pistol to three-quarters in 1:22.2 and asserted to reclaim the lead off the turn for home.

“Dex had to use him hard two times in the race,” said trainer Nancy Takter, adding that the colt “covers a lot of ground.”

“He’s had a really good season; he won the New Jersey Classic here,” continued Takter. “He’s continued to improve. We had some trouble getting him to steer properly, but today was the best he’s steered. Hopefully that carries over to 2025.

Captain Optimistic, a seven-time winner from 11 starts, has earned $454,830 this season for 3 Brothers Stables, Marvin Katz and Caviart Farms. As the 4-5 favorite, he paid $3.80 to win.

A LITTLE MORE: If it wasn’t already locked up, Dexter Dunn’s five-winner night will no doubt give the 35-year-old New Zealand native a fifth Dan Patch Driver of the Year trophy in the last six years. … Jeff Cullipher, Ake Svanstedt, Chris Ryder and Andrew Harris tied atop the trainer leaderboard with two victories apiece. … A carryover of $4,810 motivated players to pump just over $42,000 of “new money” into the 20-cent Pick-6 pool. Those with winning tickets divided up the total pot of $47,210 by collecting $837.36. … All-source handle totaled $3,324,178 on the 14-race program, the biggest night of action since October 26 when over $4.3 million was put in play on Breeders Crown Finals Night II. … The racing schedule will be a tad different for the next two weeks, as live action will be conducted on a Thursday-Saturday basis with the usual first-race post time of 6:20 p.m.                                                            —Dave Little