from harness publicists across North America

Saturday night’s (Nov. 5) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Batavia Downs, Saratoga, Hollywood Dayton Raceway and the Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

Shady City circles the wagons in Batavia Downs feature

Batavia, NY — Yonkers Raceway invader Shady City got away last before sweeping the field around the last turn to pull away and win the $10,000 Open Pace at Batavia Downs on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 5).

Paul White photo

Shady City was a 1:54.l winner in the Open Pace at Batavia.

Last week’s Open Pace winner, China Dream (Shawn Gray), tried to repeat his effort by going to the front in a quick :26.4 quarter. After he settled, the field of six rounded the turn before splitting into two rows as they motored to the half. Thunderbolt Jaxon (Jim Morrill Jr.) pulled first up in the outer flow with Knocking Around (Dave McNeight III) and Shady City (Larry Stalbaum) following right behind him.

The group remained three in and three out past the five-eighths when Shady City (Larry Stalbaum) swung three-deep as the leader tripped the third panel in 1:25.2 with a two length lead. Shady City seemed to stall by the head of the stretch and China Dream was looking like a winner. But Shady City, with his tail flagging and ears perked, made up three lengths and strode by China Dream like an easy day at the office to win in 1:54.1.

It was the fourth win of 2016 for Shady City ($9.60) and it pushed him to $53,882 in earnings for the year. Stalbaum owns the 6-year-old son of Metropolitan who is trained by Kimberly Asher.

In the co-featured $9,000 Open II Pace, Lucky King (Ron Beback Jr.) took the long way home, coming from seventh and parked out from just past the quarter, to swing five-deep in the stretch and win by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:56.

It was the fifth win of the year for Lucky King who is owned by Keith Pinkowski and trained by Mihajlo Zdjelar Jr. The grossly overlooked winner returned a healthy $77.00.

Drew Monti had a four-win night while visiting reinsman Larry Stalbaum copped three. Shawn Gray and Ron Beback Jr. both took two races apiece. On the conditioning side, Kimberly Asher had the training hat trick.

Racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Wednesday night (Nov. 9) with a guaranteed Pick-5 pool of $3,500. Post time is 6:15 p.m.

— Tim Bojarski

Saratoga
Royal Heart (Royal Art) gave his connections an Open win for the second consecutive night at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The 5-year-old pacer scored on the front end in Saturday’s $18,000 Open Pace with Bruce Aldrich Jr. driving for trainer Jose Godinez. Royal Heart was taking a big step up in company off a win last week as he was aggressively moved to the early lead in fast first half fractions of :26.4 and :55.3. Royal Heart looked none the worse for the wear in the stretch and had enough left to draw away from his rivals to record his second consecutive win and seventh on the season. The race’s 8-5 betting favorite stopped the timer in 1:51.4 in the feature, matching the seasonal mark he set at Monticello earlier in the year. Artful Way (Frank Coppola Jr.) sat the pocket to the winner and wound up as the runner-up on Saturday night while Yonkers invader Border Control A (Jim Devaux) came on to finish third. Royal Heart’s connections won the Friday feature at the Spa with Glenferrie Bronte N who scored her first victory in the local Fillies and Mares Open. Both Open winners are owned by the Blindswitch Racing Stable and the Dolne Farm Services. Live racing continues on Sunday afternoon with a 12:15 p.m. start to the matinee.

Hollyqood Dayton Raceway
Mykindachip made it three in a row in O-hi-o on Saturday night at Hollywood Dayton Raceway. The 1:50.4 triumph was the 7-year-old Art’s Chip gelding’s second straight in Open company since being purchased privately about a month ago and moving to the powerful Ron Burke stable. The $600,000-plus career earner won in 1:51.1 in his last start in the Jim Dailey barn on Oct. 6. As the even money favorite, despite drawing the outermost post position, Mykindachip was hustled by driver Chris Page directly to the front when the wings swung open. Page allowed Sports Sinner (Dan Noble) to clear to the front briefly as they sped past the quarter in :27.1, but immediately retook command well prior to the :54.3 half. With Secret Threat (Kayne Kauffman) sitting third along the pylons, the order remained intact throughout the last five-eighths of the mile, save for a sustained first-over challenge from My Buddy Ninkster (Josh Sutton) that eventually fizzled in mid-stretch. The three-quarter timer flashed 1:22.2, with a :28.2 final panel completing the 1:50.4 clocking. Burke Racing, Weaver Bruscemi, Jerry Silva and Lawrence Karr now own Mykindachip, whose 2016 bankroll swelled to $98,725 with the winner’s share of the $15,000 Open purse.

Pocono
Scott Rocks, a member of an elite club of double season’s leaders on the various sizes of North American harness tracks, opened an insurmountable lead on the far turn in Saturday’s $20,000 pacing feature at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, then coasted home to a 2-1/2 length victory in 1:50, the fourth mile to go in 1:50 on, fittingly, a low-50s temperature night at The Downs. The meet’s winningest driver and trainer, George Napolitano Jr. and Chris Oakes, respectively, clicked for the second time on the night with the victorious Rocknroll Hanover gelding, with the final time especially impressive when one notes that once making the lead Scott Rocks and Napolitano were able to rate the second quarter to :29.2. There was no getting to the winner of two straight races after that as he defeated the winner of last week’s feature, E Street Plan, for owners Susan Oakes and Chuck Pompey, who saw the pacer elevate his bankroll to $156,174 for the year and $493,279 lifetime. Scott Rocks set the season’s record for older pacing geldings for five-eighths-mile tracks with a 1:48 mile at Pocono May 28 and he set a world record of 1:49 over the half-mile Northfield oval on Sep. 3. Nine horses are double season’s leaders and eight of them set world records in at least one of their spotlight efforts, and three (Always B Miki, Hannelore Hanover and Huntsville) went on to become Breeders Crown champions.

One winning streak had to fall (barring a dead-heat to win) in the $18,000 claiming handicap pace as Terror Time A came into the event having won his last six starts and Rockin Rambaran had triumphed in his last five. But both streaks went by the boards as Freeneasy Hanover went three-wide under the finish line the first time, into the wind, to get the lead before the half and went on to victory in 1:50. The Western Ideal gelding was making his first start after a claim for trainer Chris Oakes and owner Susan Oakes, and driver George Napolitano Jr. was named on four horses in the race, including the two streakers, but those who followed him to Freeneasy Hanover got a $6.40 return. Terror Time A, the favorite, was trapped to headstretch and was zooming late for third, while Rockin Rambaran got unlucky and was hung without cover; indeed, he was the horse that Freeneasy Hanover circled the first time under the wire.