Hamburg, NY – It’s been quite a whirlwind of events for Alexa’s Sunshine the past six weeks. She was claimed on three different occasions in the April Reins Claiming Series at Buffalo Raceway as she won two of the three preliminary rounds along with a second place finish. She then capped that off by capturing the $30,000 April Reins Finals.
Things seem to be settling down now for the 6-year-old mare as after taking a third place finish last week, Alexa’s Sunshine ($4.22) got back to her winning ways with a neck victory over Bolt Of Beauty in Buffalo Raceway’s $10,900 pace for the ladies on Wednesday afternoon (May 20).
With the field condensed down to six due to the scratch of Art Of Racing, it took little time for the race to shape up. Major Megan (James McNeight Jr.) was able to gain control of the front end as she was able to streak to the top from the outside post. With fractions of :28.4, :58.1 and 1:27.1, the field was double decked heading to the final quarter mile, leading to an all out sprint to the wire.
Major Megan turned for home with a slight advantage but the pocket sitting Alexa’s Sunshine (Wade Tomaszewski) found room in the lightning lane and started to gobble up real estate. Bolt Of Beauty (Brett MacDonald) made her attempt on the outside and managed to get past Major Megan but couldn’t quite overtake Alexa’s Sunshine who claimed the victory with a solid kick in the passing lane.
Owned by the Lucky Label Stable LLC and trained by Taylor Fritz, it was the fourth victory in 17 starts for Alexa’s Sunshine (Stay Hungry-Alexa’s Luck). All four wins have come since April 10. The decision jumped her seasonal bankroll to $42,020 and to $179,257.
The first three races on the card were a chalk player’s nightmare as big numbers filled the board. Keith Kash Jr. scored a $104.12 victory with Eveninstarzrapsody while Kevin Cummings guided West River Ivory to a $28.18 decision and Wifey Said So to a $57.68 win. Cummings completed the triple as Odds Beater returned $12.62 in the triumph.
Monti finished the day with a triple with Shawn McDonough getting a driving and training double and Samuel Smith getting two training victories.
Racing will continue on Friday afternoon with a 12-race program scheduled. There’s a $1,265 carryover in the Pick-5 which begins in the second race.
For more information including the latest news, upcoming promotions, entries, results and race replays, go to www.buffaloraceway.com