ESPN Horse Racing

Just like the previous two years, a favorite would carry the day.

Saturday's Hambletonian at the Meadowlands capped a fistful of wins for driver Brian Sears. One of harness racing's best, the "White Knight" captured his first ever Hambletonian and drove a total of five winners on the afternoon. It was everyone's pick, the pre-race favorite of the 84th Hambletonian, Muscle Hill, who cruised to victory.

Muscle Hill has been near unstoppable recently, continuing a stretch of more than a month without a loss. The win holds a recent trend in the race of pre-race favorites winning as Deweycheatumnhowe held off a stiff late push to secure Ray Schnittker his first ever Hambletonian in 2008 and the year before it was Donato Hanover walking into to the winner's circle. Now, it was driver Brian Sears who captured this year's Hamlbetonian, capping off a scintillating summer for the standard bred.

The race started as it would finish. Holding the inside spot, it was Muscle Hill who led at the first turn, turning in a time of 27:1. He would never look back, clocking in at 55-flat at the half way point and stretching his lead to two lengths at the three-quarter mark in a time of 1:23. Sears and his horse would cross the line in 1:50.1 with a six-length lead over Explosive Matter. Sonic Hanover would round out the top three.

"It's very humbling to win such a prestigious races on a day like today -- I couldn't be happier," Sears said. "Yeah, I guess a lot of people have always been [complaining] that I haven't won the Hambo and haven't won the Hambo Oaks -- been runner up a couple of times. I knew I had a horse this year to get it done and I never had any doubts."

In his last six starts prior to the Hambletonian, Muscle Hill netted a gaudy $617,575 dollars in winnings, nearly more than double the next closest tallies rung up by Federal Flex and Explosive Matter. Three weeks ago, Muscle Hill would be made a millionaire when Sears drove him to victory in the Stanley Dancer Memorial, clocking in at a blistering time of 1:52.1. Trailing the winner was Explosive Matter at six lengths, the same distance as in his Hambletonian victory.

Sears' fourth win of the afternoon was the race before the Stakes as he captured the Hambletonian Oaks with Broadway Schooner. It was Sears who took the unheralded 3-year-old filly, who wasn't even mentioned as a favorite, all the way to the winner's circle. Quite a day for one of harness racing's best in the sully.

"I got goosebumps when the four came up," Sears said about the photo finish.

"I had room," said Rachel Desire's driver Jack Moiseyev of his push inside down the stretch. "Thought she was going to win, but she just didn't get there. I just got up too late."

In addition, Sears tallied a win with Holiday Road in the Peter Haughton Memorial. The 2-year old, also owned by Peck, added to his $261,800 dollars in winnings on the year and has now won three of four starts this season.

"The horse did everything I asked of him," Sears said of Holiday Road. "I had to just settle him back down. When I was about to put him back in the hole, he responded to me well. He stuck back in there and relaxed and I was able to save him. No one was really coming on early, so I was able to wait pretty long before I pulled him first up. He was very confident."

But the afternoon will always belong to Muscle Hill in a dominating performance to win the Hambletonian.

"Midway around the turn I could see Ronny [Pierce] tapping Explosive Matter and I knew what that meant," trainer Greg Peck said. "I know what Muscle Hill is like. When Brian [Sears] steps on the gas, he's like a sports car that goes into overdrive and does it easily."

Notes:

Not Enough continued her winning ways on the year as the 3-year old fillie won the Mistletoe Shalee in a world record time of 1:49 ... Moving from third to capture the race, David Miller drove Poof She's Gone in the Merrie Annabelle for 2-year-olds. Nearly everyone had Raising Rachel and Elusive Desire as favorites in the Hambletonian Oaks, but it was Broadway Schooner who won the race for 3-year-old fillies. Broadway Schooner pushed hard at the final turn and held off a furious push along the rail by Raising Rachel to win in a photo finish. Sears became the first ever driver to win the Hambletonian Oaks and Hambletonian Stakes on the same day. Sears also placed in two other races, the fourth race of the afternoon with Beeeyouuuuuu and the eighth race with Doug Fame.