Dube sweeps Saturday co-features at Yonkers

Yonkers, NY — If your favorite driver is Dan Dube and your favorite number is four, congratulations and go collect.

Sean Hamrock photo

Great Vintage was one of two feature race winners for driver Dan Dube on Saturday night at Yonkers Raceway.

Dube went “four-th” Saturday night, winning both halves of Yonkers Raceway’s soggy $42,000 co-featured Open Handicaps.

Great Vintage ($6.20) had nary an anxious moment in the weekly pacing feature, working around a returning P H Supercam (Jason Bartlett) and strolling through fractions of :27.4, :57.1, 1:25.2 and 1:53.2.

Great Vintage whipped 19-10 choice P H Supercam—out four weeks prior to this start—by a couple of lengths. Texican N (Eric Carlson) was a three-hole third, with Rock on Moe (Jordan Stratton) and a tough-trip All Bets Off (George Brennan) settling for the remainder.

For second choice Great Vintage, a 7-year-old son of American Ideal trained by Jimmy Takter for co-owners his wife, Christina, John Fielding and a pair of Gorans (Anderberg and Falk) it was his third win in five seasonal starts. The exacta paid $19, with the triple returning $62.50.

The week’s marquee trot saw 11-10 choice Daylon Miracle—in one notch after an inside scratch—duplicate the down-the-road (:28.3, :58.2, 1:27, 1:56.4) of Great Vintage.

Daylon Miracle held off a second move of outside assignee Luminosity (Brennan) by a length-and-a-half, with Backstreet Hanover (Tyler Buter), Rock of Cashel (Eric Goodell) and Lorenzo Dream (Carlson) rounding out the payees.

For Daylon Miracle, a 6-year-old daughter of Pegasus Spur owned (as Allard Racing) and trained by Rene Allard, it was her eighth win in 14 ’15 tries. The exacta (two wagering favorites) paid $11.20, the triple returned $47.80 and the superfecta paid $165.50.

— Frank Drucker

Saratoga Casino and Raceway
Regalwood (Stonebridge Regal) scored in the $16,500 Spa Spring Claiming Series Final on Saturday night at Saratoga Casino and Raceway. Regalwood was claimed out of the first leg of the series and though he didn’t factor in leg one, he paid immediate dividends for trainer Don Sherman and his co-owner Jessica Roegner as the 5-year-old gelding scored a convincing win in 1:55.3 in leg two. In Saturday’s series final contested at a distance of a mile and 1/16, driver Austin Siegelman worked hard to get Regalwood to the lead and endured fractions in the first half of 27.1 and 56.4 before holding strong in the stretch, covering the mile and 1/16 in 2:02.3. ER Leon (Jordan Derue), another pacer who was claimed out of the series, came up second best on Saturday while Tinys Million (Phil Fluet) earned the show spot. Regalwood, who gave Don Sherman one of his three training victories on the card, returned $5.00 to win as the race’s co-favorite. The exacta paid $16.20 while the triple returned $159.50. Leading driver Bruce Aldrich Jr. recorded five wins on the Saturday card including a victory in the $18,000 Open Pace with the Jose Godinez-trained BJ’s Guy (Towner’s Big Guy).

Buffalo Raceway
Rain, wind and a sloppy track was a winning combination for Rockstar Temper ($8.00) as he took the $10,500 Open Pace in convincing fashion at Buffalo Raceway Saturday night (June 27), beating Unicorn Hanover by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:58.1. The heavily-favored Youwillwishyouhad (Kevin Cummings) was parked to the opening panel in the feature and needed a wicked 27.3 first split to reach the lead. The hot fractions of 58.0 and 1:28.3 over the sloppy going would eventually be costly for the front-runner. Sand Savage (Jim McNeight) was first-over going down the backstretch the final time and Rockstar Temper (Drew Monti) drafted perfectly behind. The brutal times took their toll on Youwillwishyouhad as he threw in the towel at the top of the stretch and Sand Savage had enough as well. Rockstar Temper in the meantime loved the proceedings and rolled off cover to post the victory. Unicorn Hanover (David McNeight III) showed late kick to take second while Mr. Perserverance (Shawn Gray) rode the pylons for third. Owned by James Caradon and trained by Darrin Monti, Rockstar Temper has scored four victories in 18 appearances in 2015. The 7-year-old gelding (Rocknroll Hanover-Dragon Temper) has earned $43,520 this season and $332,153 lifetime. Jokerman ($43.40) didn’t joke around in the $9,500 Open II pace by springing a 1-1/2 length upset win over Beachfront in 1:57.2. After watching a speed duel on the front-end between Ain’t No Stoppin’ and I C D Moolah, Jokerman was in ‘wait and see’ mode. Waiting and seeing the speed crumble, Jokerman was three-wide and winging, rolling in the stretch for a 1-1/2 length win over Beachfront (McNeight III). Cobble Beach (Cummings) rallied for the show spot. Co-owned by trainer Richard Roth along with Randy and Robert Roth, Jokerman has six victories on the season and $43,894 in the bank. The 6-year-old gelding (American Ideal-Shark Tail) has now made $93,037 in his career.

Tioga Downs
After clearing to the front, Niss Allen, Inc.’s U Belong To Me ($17.20) backed down the second quarter before accelerating clear to a 1:54.3 win in Saturday (June 27) evening’s $10,000 Open II Pace at Tioga Downs. The 6-year-old Misfit gelding was caught wide early as A Weekend (Mike Simons) worked to clear Flying Cowboy (Dan Clements) through a :28 first quarter over sloppy going. Undeterred by the contested early pace, Fern Paquet, Jr. drove on with U Belong To Me, clearing A Weekend in the first pass through the home straight and subsequently slackening through a :30.3 second quarter. After the breather on the clubhouse turn, U Belong To Me accelerated on the backstretch to evade a first-over bid from T’s Electric (Aaron Byron) and dismiss pocket rival A Weekend, who tired on the far turn. Turning up the pace through a :27.4 third quarter, U Belong To Me held clear of T’s Electric for a 2-1/4 length victory in 1:54.3. No Monkeys Allowed (John Cummings, Jr.) sustained a belated rally to take third. Eric Mollor trains U Belong To Me, who recorded his 12th career win. Mike Simons led all drivers with four wins on the 13-race card, and Dan Clements recorded a driving hat trick. Renaldo Morales, III and Shawn Simons led all trainers with two wins apiece.

Vernon Downs
After being shoved three-wide by Painite on the entry to the far turn, Barn Girl ($10.00) made a push to the fore only to be collared by Painite in Saturday (June 27) evening’s $8,000 Mares Open II Trot at Vernon Downs. Ultimately, Barn Doll was placed the winner ahead of Painite as a result of the aforementioned interference. Jimmy Whittemore settled toward the back of the pack with the 3-year-old Cash Hall filly, racing well behind a :27.2 first quarter clicked off by Saint Patty’s Doll (Greg Merton) and a :57.1 first half attended by the first-over Concentration (Chris Lems). Moving into the far turn, Barn Girl angled second-over, but was carried deeper out by Painite (Truman Gale), who vacated the pegs without clearance three-eighths from home. Nonetheless, Barn Girl sustained her rally, working to the lead in the final 150 yards before Painite swept to the grandstand side and narrowly finished first past the post. As a result of the interference on the far turn, however, Painite was relegated to second behind the offended Barn Girl, placed the winner in 1:56.1. Torches Star (Claude Huckabone, III) rallied from the back of the pack to take third over the pacesetting Saint Patty’s Doll. Howard Okusko trains Barn Girl for the Out in the Country Stable, along with Steven and Nancy Pratt. Whittemore also won on the card with Misty Major ($7.20), earning a driving double on the 11-race card. Chris Lems and Greg Merton also each scored two wins on the program.

Running Aces
Sons of Minnesota sire Relentless Yankee dominated the $8,000 Open Pace at Running Aces for the second straight week on Saturday (June 27). First to cross the finish line was Chewy Baca (Gerry Longo), followed by Headsup Yankee (Nick Roland), It’s Getting Hairy (Dean Magee) and Goody Two Socks (Tim Maier). The top three are all 6-year-olds from the same 2009 crop, while the fourth place finisher is a year older. Chewy Baca extended his win streak to five with the impressive 1:52.3 victory, the last four at Running Aces, for 70-year-old owner-trainer-driver Gerry Longo. The winner got away fifth in the compact field of six, came first-over at the half then swung three-wide around the final turn before pinning the two length triumph on his fellow state-bred blood relatives. Longo is enjoying one of the finest statistical meets of his lengthy career. The green, gold and black clad veteran is currently second in both the drivers and trainers standings at Running Aces with 16 trips to the winner’s circle including a dozen with horses from his stable in the first ten nights of the 53-night stand. His UDRS average is well over .400 and his UTRS well over .500 in the month of June. Leading driver-trainer Nick Roland also had an exceptional Saturday night scoring a triple with horses he also conditions. The 32-year-old Iowa native won both $5,500 splits of the Minnesota-sired sophomore paces. Queen Of Denial captured the filly division in 1:55.4, besting Moonshinenmonkeys (Tim Maier) and Smokin Hot Coco (Travis Bowman). Gotalilcaptaininme beat Willystay-R-Willgo (Longo) and Toatsmygoats (Rick Magee) in 1:57.4 in the tandem male event. Roland also guided I’m So Blue to a 1:55.1 score in a $4000 conditioned pace. The triple gives him 20 driving wins in the first ten nights.

Pompano Park
Raji’s Blue Line, handled by Andy Santeramo, dug in late to score a courageous win in Pompano Park’s $9,000 Winner’s Over feature pace on Saturday night (June 27). The 7-year-old son of Artsplace, owned by Souren Hovsepian along with trainer Rod Lorenzo, had to survive four separate incidents during the mile before stopping the timer in 1:51.2. Abreathofreshart (Wally Ross, Jr.) was second in the mile while Northern Companion (Tom Sells) finished third. Who’s Your Maddy and Histoire Eternelle were next in the sextet while Freeneasy Hanover was doomed at the start after a miscue leaving. In a post-race interview, driver Andy Santeramo said, “They threw everything but the kitchen sink at him tonight but he just kept digging and digging all the way home. He was very brave tonight.” In achieving his fourth win of the year in 22 starts, Raji’s Blue Line sent his seasonal bounty to $41,166 and $215,866 lifetime to go along with a Pompano Park mark of 1:51. Pompano Park returns on October 4, 2015 with a 126 day meeting.

Scarborough Downs
Kevin Switzer, Jr held the hot hand at Scarborough Downs on Saturday (6/27) winning five of the eight dashes carded on the twilight program. Switzer, who has been dividing his time driving at all three racing venues along the New England circuit, made an emphatic statement while making his first appearance of the week in southern Maine, claiming victory in both of the co-featured events on Saturday’s card. The man in blue and black kicked of his day steering Randy Bickmore’s Glow Stick to her fifth consecutive win in the $6,000 Distaff Free For All before closing out his day with a 1:54.1 walk in the park with Scott McKenzie’s A Sweet Ride in the $6,000 colt and gelding feature. Sandwiched in between were winner’s circle appearances with Fairytale Prince, Rose Alba and Western Rival. Switzer, whose name is featured prominently on Sunday’s matinee program, remains cemented strongly in second place upon the Scarborough Leader’s Board, trailing only perennial powerhouse Drew Campbell in the standings.