from Harness Publicists across North America

Saturday’s (February 14) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Yonkers Raceway, Dover Downs, Buffalo Raceway, Pompano Park and Cal-Expo.

Tasmanian Daniel wins Yonkers Open

Yonkers, NY — Tasmanian Daniel (Larry Stalbaum) made it three wins in his last four starts on Saturday night, winning Yonkers Raceway’s $31,000 Open Handicap Pace.

Mike Lizzi photo

Tasmanian Daniel was a 1:55.1 winner in the Yonkers Open.

Ordered outside his six rivals (Rare Jewel was ill), “Daniel” settled in fifth early. Noble’s Grand Slam (Greg Grismore) led the gang through a :27.1 quarter and :57.1 intermission. Johnny Walker (Jason Bartlett) played the role of pocket protector, with 2-1 choice J P Jackpot (Stephane Bouchard) dropping in third. Cheyenne Hollywood (Ryan Anderon), who was looped leaving before wedging in fourth, tried it first-up.

“Hollywood” carried “Daniel” toward the 1:26.2 three-quarters, but Noble’s Grand Slam continued to maintain the advantage. He took a 1-1/4 length lead into the lane, with Tasmanian Daniel wide and moving.

“Daniel” went up and over the leader, getting to the wire a length ahead of Johnny Walker in 1:55.1. Noble’s Grand Slam, a never-clear J P Jackpot and Up Front Peyton (Brent Holland) completed the cashers.

Tasmanian Daniel, a 7-year-old Keystone Raider gelding owned and trained by Kimberly Asher, paid $11.20 (fourth choice) for his third win in six seasonal starts. The exacta returned $69.00, with the triple paying $316.00.

Yonkers also deferred to the fairer sex during the 13-race Valentine’s Night program, as the Stacy Chiodo-trained and driven Mighty Young Joe ($4.00) schooled the boys in the $15,000 second race pace. Stacy and “Joe” wired the field in 1:56.1.

— Frank Drucker

Next Flight, Coco Count win Dover features

Dover, DE — Next Flight is tough to beat on the front end and Jim Morand used that strategy to win the $17,000 male pace co-feature on Valentine’s Day at Dover Downs. Coco Count made it three in a row in taking the $16,000 co-featured trot. Corey Callahan won five races again.

Veteran Next Flight rushed off to the lead and set all the fractions in a 1:53 triumph in the $17,000 top pace. Jim Morand was at the controls for the Shotgun Scott-Lido Beach gelding who posted his first win of the year and 39th of his career for the Henry Faragallis, Jr. and III, Belle Bauman and trainer Del Cote. Next Flight has banked $574,620 lifetime. Race favorite The Midnight Owl N (Jon Roberts) closed with a rush to finish second. Jaccar N (Tony Morgan) was third.

Coco Count has improved in each of his last three starts, all wins, lowering his personal best clocking to 1:58 as Tony Morgan steered the victory in a $16,000 4- and 5-year-old trot. Perfect Man (Vic Kirby) was a strong second and Yarborough Hanover (Vince Copeland) took third money. Paul and trainer Colleen Chambers own the altered son of Broadway Hall-Serafina The Great, now undefeated in his three 2009 appearances.

Tacos Du Ruisseau came on strong to complete Callahan’s second straight five-win night, getting up in the final strides for a 1:53.2 victory in an $11,500 male pace. Charles Bonuccelli, Arthur Feeney and trainer Nick Callahan own the Cam’s Card Shark-Western Jeans 6-year-old. Cosmic Illusion N (Ross Wolfenden) was a nose back in second. Escapefromalcatraz (Morgan) and First Royal N (Vic Kirby) finished in a dead heat for third.

— Marv Bachrad

Jezzabell Hotspur beats the boys in Buffalo Open

Hamburg, NY — Jezzabell Hotspur, a 7-year-old Anthony P mare, out of the Broadway Express mare Charisma, won the $9,000 Open Handicap Pace for owner Betty Tauber in 1:58.3 at Buffalo Raceway on Saturday night.

Paul White photo

Jezzabell Hotspur (#1) rallied in the lane to win the Open Handicap Pace at Buffalo.

Capably driven by reinsman Ken “Doc” Holliday, Jezzabell Hotspur ($5.20), leaving from the pylons in the field of seven, received a perfect two-hole trip behind eventual second place finishers Clooney Drummond and driver Ron Beback, Jr., who set all the fractions in the race, :29, :59 and 1:29.3.

A sparkling :28.4 last quarter put Jezzabell Hotspur just a neck in front at the wire. Just one-half length back in third was Party News and driver Ray Fisher, Jr., in what was the best finish of the night.

Trained by Ken’s wife Sherri, it was the second win of the season for Jezzabell Hotspur and the winner’s share of the purse put her 2009 bankroll at $10,125 and $201,173 lifetime.

The hot driver on this chilly night was Ray Fisher, Jr., who steered home five winners: Kickin Up Dirt ($3.10), Robin Of Locksley ($3.50), Peggy Spur ($15.40), Oaks Enforcer ($20.40) and Supreme Ruler ($6.40).

— Sam Pendolino

Harness and Case win Mildred Williams Series divisions

Pompano Beach, FL — Nichole Harness, a third generation horsewoman from Beaver, Ohio, got to fly for the first time on a jet plane, got to swim for the first time in an ocean and also scored her first pari-mutuel harness racing victory on Saturday at the Isle Pompano Park. Harness won the fourth race second division of the Mildred Williams Driving Series for women.

Lap Time Photo – Skip Smith

Nichole Harness posted her first pari-mutuel victory with the pacer Rif Raf Star in a division of the Mildred Williams Series.

The $7,000 pace saw Kelly Case, with Casey’s Bonanza, go right to the early lead from post four with Cash In Your Chips (Gro Gormia) grabbing the pocket trip while Peter Mills (Megan Fortna) was parked out first-over and Nichole Harness was sitting fourth on the rail with Rif Raf Star.

Casey’s Bonanza led the field through fractions of :28.4, :58.4 and 1:27.2 before Peter Mills began to fade on the final turn. It was then that Harness made her move with Rif Raf Star, pulling to the outside, collaring Casey’s Bonanza in the stretch and then blowing by them to win by 3-1/4 lengths in 1:56.2. Casey’s Bonanza was second with Cash In Your Chips third. Sent off at odds of 14-1, Rif Raf Star paid $31.00 to win.

“This has been quite a weekend,” said Harness, age 22. “How exciting to be able to win in my first race ever here.”

Rif Raf Star, a 9-year-old gelding by Stubby B, is trained by Jimmy Salerno and is owned by Don Locricchio. It was Rif Raf Star’s second win this year.

In the second race first division, a $7,000 trot, Muscle For Hire ($4.60) and driver Kelly Case made a three-wide move on the final turn from sixth place and then pulled away from the field to win in 1:59.3 by 2-1/2 lengths. Southern Beauty (Megan Fortna) was second with pacesetter CSI Mrs Lavec (Gro Formia) third.

It was the second win this year for Muscle For Hire, a 9-year-old gelding by Muscles Yankee, trained by Jamie Paquet and owned by Wayne Lockwood and Jamie Paquet. For Kelly Case, who competes at Pompano Park, it was her 764th career win.

The Mildred Williams Driving Series, in its fourth year of competition, competes at more than 30 tracks across North America. All of the women competing donate their winnings to the track’s local charity. The Isle Pompano Park raised more than $2,500 from the event that went to the Gilda’s House of South Florida, a free community center for cancer victims.

The fastest mile on the evening took place in the third race $16,000 Open Handicap Pace. Vapor In The Wind ($8.60) and driver Ricky Macomber, Jr. enjoyed a pocket trip behind I Can Only Imagine (Bruce Ranger), who cut fractions of :26.2, :54.3 and 1:22 before Macomber pulled the pocket and shot by the leader to win by 2-1/4 lengths in 1:50.1. Sahara Hall (Anthony Napolitano) was second with I Can Only Imagine third.

It was the fastest mile this year at the Isle Pompano Park and the fastest mile on any five-eighths-mile track in North America in 2009. Owned by the Tanah Merah Farms and trained by Richard Macomber, Vapor In The Wind is a 5-year-old gelded son of Cole Muffler. He has now won six of his last seven starts.

— Steve Wolf

Ivegotwhatuneed has what it takes at Cal-Expo

Sacramento, CA — Conditioned pacers, racing for a purse of $3,800, were co-featured at Cal-Expo on a windy Saturday night over a track listed as ‘good,’ in which Ivegotwhatuneed took full advantage of class relief.

Coming away in sixth position in the field of seven into a first quarter timed in :28.3, Ivegotwhatuneed would be anxious early in the second quarter and under a hold at the three-eighths pole as the pace slowed up despite backstretch tailwinds. When the opportunity, however, to pull the 1-2 favorite existed at the 7-16th pole into a :58.1 first half, driver Luke Plano had good reason to sit.

“The horse has a real nice move, but I didn’t want to move him that early,” stated Plano.

Moving to second-over position as the field headed toward the final turn while now having moving cover, Plano would still find himself four lengths back at the three-quarter marker, timed in 1:27.2. Moving three-wide very late in the final turn while having a handful and while having his pacer under a hold, Ivegotwhatuneed would begin to fly like a jet.

“He switched gears when I tipped him off cover and was pacing like a freight train and was going about as fast as a horse could go at that point.”

Devouring ground into the stretch with Plano parallel to the ground, the 6-year-old would motor into the lead at mid-stretch. Under one wheel-disc urge and brief minor urging in the final sixteenth of a mile, the gelding would draw clear on the wire to win ($3.00) by 1-3/4 lengths. Owned by David Neumeister and Marty Garey in partnership with trainer Bob Johnson, Ivegotwhatuneed would stop the timer at 1:55.2. The pacesetting Ideally Magic (Steve Wiseman) was a good second, and Blow Em Away (Bruce Clarke) finished another 3-3/4 lengths farther back, in third.

“It was a very good mile for the horse,” finished the young Plano.

— Scott Ehrlich