Trainer Marcus Melander may have come away from the Hambletonian without a victory, but his ‘G-Squad’ of 3-year-old trotters still stand at or near the top of the division and will take drastically different routes in the upcoming weeks. Hambletonian runner-up Greenshoe, who easily tossed aside his competition in the $330,000 Zweig Memorial at Vernon Downs last Saturday (August 18), will get a few weeks off before heading to the Bluegrass State. He’ll skip leg two of the Kentucky Sire Stakes on August 24 and aim for the third leg on September 5th in hopes of making the $250,000 final. “He was just at Vernon on Saturday and it is a long trip to Kentucky,” said Melander on why Greenshoe would skip leg two. “Ideally he would race in the third leg, the Sire Stakes final and then the Kentucky Futurity and Breeders Crown, but we have other options.” According to Melander, Greenshoe came out of the Zweig in good order, but after acting up somewhat in the Hambletonian, it was something different that kept the trainer nervous in the Zweig. “He was really quiet,” said Melander.” I was almost a little worried warming up because he was so quiet, but he was good. “The atmosphere and everything is so different on Hambo Day. He’s a smart horse and I think he felt that things were going on and he was excited and anxious.” Greenshoe leads all 3-year-old trotters with $751,500 earned in 2019 for owners Courant Inc., Hans Backe, Lars Granqvist and Morten Langli. He has won six of eight starts with two seconds. One of the other options for Greenshoe is the Canadian Trotting Classic, which is where stablemate Green Manalishi S will race after the Simcoe on August 31 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Owned solely by Courant Inc, Green Manalishi S finished six lengths behind Greenshoe in the Zweig, but was originally thought to be heading to Sweden after the Hambletonian. “We decided to keep him here because he was racing well. Plus it is a long trip to Sweden with a stop in Belgium,” said Melander, who added that he expected the son of Muscle Hill to head overseas at the end of the 2019 racing season in North America. The final ‘G’ on Team Mealnder is Gimpanzee, who was entered to race in the Yonkers Trot but will make a pit stop in Batavia this Saturday since eliminations weren’t necessary. Only seven horses dropped in for the $500,000 Yonkers Trot, which will be contested on August 31 at Yonkers Raceway. “He’s fifth in the standings for the (New York) Sire Stakes, so he could need more points just to be safe to make it. The final is at Batavia, so it is good for him to try that track out as well,” said Melander. The start on August 24 at Batavia will be Gimpanzee’s first since the August 3 Hambletonian where he closed well to be third behind race-winner Forbidden Trade and Greenshoe. “I thought he raced huge both times. For the Hambletonian elimination he was parked the entire time and finished well. In the final he was sitting last and came home in like 26 2/5,” said Melander about Gimpanzee, who is owned by Courant Inc and SRF Stable. Assuming all goes well, after the Yonkers Trot Gimpanzee will head to Batavia for the Sire Stakes final on September 14. While two-thirds of his trotting trio will be off this week, Melander has his top 2-year-old trotting filly Hypnotic Am racing at Yonkers on Thursday in a $77,300 division of the New York Sire Stakes. Undefeated in four career starts and off an impressive 1:53 win in the $310,700 James Doherty Memorial at The Meadowlands on Hambletonian Day, Hypnotic Am starts from post two in the sixth race with Brian Sears listed to drive. “We had to decide whether to send her to Kentucky for the Sire Stakes or stay in New York and since she gets around a half so easily, we kept her home,” said Melander. “There are two legs left, at Yonkers and Saratoga, so hopefully she does well and makes the final.” Melander admits he’s excited about the potential of his Chapter Seven-sired filly. “Even if she didn’t win the Doherty the way she did, I was so impressed with how she raced when she went 1:56 1/5 at Yonkers (track record). For a 2-year-old trotting filly to do that in mid-July is pretty impressive. If she would’ve done it in September that is different. I think she is the real deal for sure.”