Batavia, NY — After not having seen an inside post since July 1, Elegant Woman A took full advantage of her seldom-seen pylon position and easily handled her peers in the $13,500 Open Pace for fillies and mares at Batavia Downs on a rainy and sloppy Wednesday (Sept. 9) night.
Rightfully Mine (Leon Bailey) shot right to the front, but Elegant Woman A (Drew Monti) immediately left the pocket to take control before reaching the quarter in :27.3. Elegant Woman A was pacing on point as she made her way to the half, where Windsun Charlotte (Dave McNeight III) made a first-over move and got to within a length of the leader at the 1:25 three-quarters.
As they made their way around turn four, Windsun Charlotte hung on as best she could, but Elegant Woman A had changed gears and was pacing away from the group. By the top of the stretch, Elegant Woman A had opened up a 2-length advantage, and as she paced for home, she was a wrapped-up winner in 1:55.1.
It was the fifth win of the year for the heavily-bet Elegant Woman A ($2.66), who went over $60,000 for the year for owners Vogel and Wags Nags, Jack Rice, Maria Rice (who also trains her), and her driver, Drew Monti.
Elegant Woman A wasn’t the only horse taking advantage of pylon position on Wednesday, as six consecutive races (five through 10) were won by the No. 1 horse. That included the two claiming/condition sub-features, which went for $8,000 apiece.
The pace was won by Caviart Val (Ray Fisher Jr.), who tripped-out behind Solar Solution (Leon Bailey) and then closed late to win by a quarter length in 1:55.3. Caviart Val ($14.90) is owned by Chelsea Prescott and trained by Luis Porfilio.
Then, in the trot, My One Percent (Kyle Cummings) led at every station while incrementally extending his lead before crossing the wire ahead by 4-1/4 lengths in 1:59. My One Percent ($3.18) is trained and owned by his driver, Kyle Cummings, in partnership with Matthew Miller.
Brett MacDonald was the big man in the bike on Wednesday as he posted a grand slam during the program. MacDonald won with Four finger Floyd (1:57, $17.88), Andrews Ideal (1:56.4, $50.56), Run Around John (1:57.2, $7.94) and Great Unknown (2:01.1, $4.30).
Dave Russo led all trainers after sending out two winners from his barn.
Live racing at Batavia Downs will resume on Saturday (Sept. 12) at 5 p.m.; there will be a guaranteed pool of $3,000 (with a $538 carryover) in the Pick-5 (races 1-5) made possible through the USTA’s Strategic Wagering Program. Free program pages for the Pick-5 races will be available at ustrotting.com under the “Handicapping” tab.
There will also be a $2,653 carryover in the Jackpot Hi-5, offered in the 13th race.
Free full-card past performance programs for every live card of racing at Batavia Downs can always be downloaded at the track’s website under the “Live Racing” tab, and you can watch all the races live as they happen for free on the Batavia Downs YouTube page.