After a third-place finish behind divisional standout Jiggy Jog S in the 2024 Six Pack on June 29, Tactical Mounds surged back to the winner’s circle with a scintillating 1:49.4 lifetime-best mile and her second victory in the Miss Versatility, capturing the $54,795 fourth preliminary leg of the series for trotting mares on Saturday, July 13 at the Meadowlands.
![Tactical Mounds and trainer Megan Scran in the winners circle at The Meadowlands on July 13, 2024. James Lisa Photo.](https://thestable.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/tactical-mounds-megan-scran-839x1024.jpg)
Scott Zeron put Tactical Mounds in play from the outset, pressing at the pegs to string HP Mama B (driven by Louis-Philippe Roy) out through a :26.2 first quarter before yielding to draft briefly in the pocket. Tactical Mounds made her move to the lead with nine-sixteenths to go, edging out of the pocket and pushing clear of HP Mama B at the :54.3 midway point. The four-year-old Tactical Landing-Mounds mare remained unchallenged on the far turn, evading a gradual first-over push from 1-5 favourite M Ms Dream (David Miller) out of third to three-quarters in 1:22.3.
M Ms Dream took over second from HP Mama B off the corner for home, but Tactical Mounds shifted gears and burst to a 4-1/2-length advantage at the eighth pole. Zeron kept her to her task with mild encouragement through the stretch, and she won by a measured two lengths. Runner-up M Ms Dream closed ground steadily in deep stretch despite drifting to the six-path; Nelsonbriteagle NO (Åke Svanstedt) narrowly held third over Warrawee Xenia (Bob McClure) after loosely stalking cover on the far turn.
“Louis was rocking and rolling through the first quarter, and I had Dave right behind me,” said Zeron of the contested early pace. “I wanted to make a move (to the front) before Dave did.”
Now a 14-time winner with $514,933 in career earnings, Tactical Mounds is trained by Megan Scran for TheStable Tactical Mounds. She paid $10.00 as the 4-1 second choice.
“She’s been getting better and better every single week,” added Zeron. “I had a lot of confidence in her.”
(Reprinted with permission from The Meadowlands)