by Shawn Wiles, for Monticello Raceway

Monticello, NY — Based on the sheer number of 2-year-old trotting colts that dropped in the box, the health of the New York Sire Stakes program appears to be in excellent condition. A total of 72 colts were entered for Monday’s (July 31) New York Sire Stakes event at Monticello Raceway, so 11 of the 13 races on the Monday racing program are NYSS events.

The four heats of Sire Stakes will race for a purse of $23,750. There are also three Excelsior A ($15,000) events and four Excelsior B ($6,600) races. For many of the young pupils, this will be their first start on a half-mile oval.

The Hambletonian winning combination of Brain Sears and George Ducharme will send forth The Veteran in race one. The Muscle Mass colt was handy in his last start at Saratoga, where he scored in 1:59.4 in his pari-mutuel debut. He will score from post position five.

The fifth race looks to be the dash of the day. The field is comprised of Cruising In Style (Muscle Mass–SOS Respect) who will look to keep his four-race win streak intact from post four for trainer Andrew Harris.

Funknpancakes earned his first lifetime win last week at the Big M in 1:56.3 in a 2-year-old overnight event; the RC Royalty colt trotted home in :27.2. Prior to that he finished second in a NYSS race for owner Crawford Farms.

Ray Schnittker brings Coach Cummings to the fray from the rail. The Goshen based trainee son of Deweycheatumnhowe has two Goshen wins under his belt and has proven himself on the half-mile.

Troller will look to shed his role as a bridesmaid from post two for the always dangerous Phil Fluet.

The third split of NYSS comes in race eight. The lone trotter with any half-mile track experience is Ronnie Goldstein, who will start from the rail for trainer-driver Kim Crawford. The Muscle Mass–Barbara Goldstein colt will look to improve on his lifetime mark of 2:00.1 taken at Saratoga.

From post position four Lunar Credit, who finished second two starts ago in Sire Stakes action at Tioga Downs, will be driven by Jason Bartlett, who won four races on a NYSS card last week at Monticello. The son of Credit Winner-Lunar Dream is owned by Little E, Arthur Geiger, David Stolz and Jason Settlemoir.

Purpose Blue Chip with the now healthy Dan Daley will start from the outside seven hole. The Chapter Seven colt was second in his last start at Tioga Downs.

The final NYSS race features the unbeaten Clive Bigsby, a winner of three in a row for trainer George Ducharme. He has one Sire Stake win to his credit at Tioga Downs. The Muscle Mass–Northern Flare colt is owned by George Ducharme Stable LLC and Winters Racing Stable.

Fourth Dimension, a $200,000 yearling, is looking to extend his win streak after an impressive win at Tioga Down in 1:55.2. The Chapter Seven offspring is trained by Marcus Melander and will be driven by recent Hall of Fame inductee Brian Sears and will start from post position three.

The four splits of the Excelsior A will race for a purse of $15,000. The recently red hot Ake Svanstedt, who had a clean sweep recently at Batavia Downs, will showcase On The Ropes (post five) in race two. He jogged in his last start by seven lengths to win in 1:56.2 at the Meadowlands.

In race three, Helpisontheway will find post two more to his liking as last week from the nine hole at the Meadowlands he was never a factor for trainer Linda Toscano.

A winner in this company, Credicone will look for back-to-back victories in the last division of the Excelsior A. The Credit Winner colt is owned by Purple Haze Stables LLC.

Post time is 12:50 p.m. and the weatherman is calling for sunny skies with temperatures in the highs 70s The track record for 2-year-old colt trotters is 1:58.2, held by Fashion Blizzard. The record for 2-year-old trotting geldings is 1:58.1, set by Allerage Echo in 2015.