Hamburg, NY — Valentine Express took the ‘express’ to the winner’s circle at Buffalo Raceway in the $15,500 Open Trot on Saturday afternoon (April 11) as he stunned his five other rivals with a $49.62 shocker in 1:57.4 over the fast track. He beat Crazy Ritz by a neck while Dougadougadew finished third.
Lyons Surfing ($4.66) made it four straight victories as he held off a last charge from Livonjaxandqueens to notch a narrow nose win in a seasonal best 1:53.4 in the $15,500 Open Pace.
In the Open Trot, it was a wild and wooly affair as all the trotters had a legitimate chance throughout the race and at the finish line. El Toro Loco set the tempo with fractions of :28.1 and :58.4 through the opening half mile with heavily-favored Dealin With Dewey tracking along in second. But things were about to get very interesting approaching the three-quarter pole.
Double Class moved first over while Valentine Express swung three-wide in hitting the final marker in 1:28. It was a mad scramble down the stretch as Valentine Express (Drew Monti) was able to poke a head in front while Crazy Ritz (James McNeight Jr.) stormed on the outside and Dougadougadew attacked from the inside. Hitting the finish line, five horses were within shouting distance of the victory with Valentine Express having the short advantage while Crazy Ritz and Dougadougadew (Kyle Cummings) took the heart-breaking second and third place finishes respectively.
Owned by Rock 01 Stable, Inc. and trained by Jerry Nugent Jr., 7-year-old Valentine Express (Chapter Seven-Cantala) earned his first win in three attempts this season. The victory upped his 2026 bankroll to $9,300 while his career earnings improved to $345,045.
Lyons Surfing has made a steady climb up the condition ladder and after collecting three straight wins in late-charging fashion. Now hitting the pinnacle in the Open Pace, nothing has changed in his running style.
With Davey Day Trader, Egomania and Lanjo Lee all involved in the early scrum to the opening panel, it was Lanjo Lee who came up on top. With fractions of :27.3, :55.4 and 1:24.2 in set, Lanjo Lee appeared to have a comfortable edge turning for home.
But Lyons Surfing (Greg Merton) and Livonjaxandqueens weren’t about to throw in the towel. The pair sandwiched Lanjo Lee (Kyle Cummings) down the lane with Lyons Surfing just hitting the line before a hard-charging Livonjaxandqueens (Denny Bucceri).
Owned by the P T Stable and conditioned by Sheena Cohen, the victory is the fourth in five tries on the campaign for the 6-year-old Lyons Surfing (Stay Hungry-Surfside Sexy). With the score, Lyons Surfing has produced $25,825 in earnings this year and $426,929 in his career.
Merton completed the afternoon with four wins while Monti had a triple. Cohen tripled to top the trainers with Samuel Smith scoring two victories.
Racing will continue on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. (April 15) with an 11-race card scheduled.
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