Final Yonkers NYSS leg in Friday’s Lew Barasch Trot
September 13, 2018,by Frank Drucker, publicity director, Empire City at Yonkers Raceway
Yonkers, NY — On Friday night (Sept. 14), Yonkers Raceway hosts its 16th and final leg of New York Sire Stakes competition with the $156,200 Lew Barasch Trot for 2-year-old colts and geldings.
Of course, this is the final chance to electrify the electorate before the $1.8 million New York Night of Champions, also at Yonkers, a week from Saturday (Sept. 22).
Friday’s event once again honors the memory of ‘Tootie,’ the sport’s quintessential PR man and unsung hero behind the huge, back-in-the-day success of the International Trot.
The $77,400 first grouping goes as the fifth race, with Thunder (Jason Bartlett, post two) and Chip Chip Conway (Jim Taggart Jr., post four) again opposing one another. The pair finished 1-2 at Vernon late last month, the former’s third sire stakes win in his last four starts.
Thunder, a son of Conway Hall, is trained by John Butenschoen for co-owners Crawford Racing, VIP Internet Stables and Jeremey Day. The frosh’s bankroll of $113,121 dwarfs that of his rivals, though his previously-mentioned nemesis has put away $73,119.
Chip Chip Conway has a win, three seconds and a third in five (NYSS) tries adding the straps. The Conway Hall gelding is co-owned by trainer Gary Messenger and Kenneth Weckstein.
The evening’s $78,800 second state-bred sojourn sees divisional beast Gimpanzee (Brian Sears, post six) display his perfect five-for-five ($126,958) record.
They haven’t come within sniffing range of Gimpanzee, whose slimmest margin in the five wins — all in NYSS completion — has been 2-3/4 lengths. He aired here from the eight-hole last month in 1:57.3 and returns off a life-best 1:54.3 number at Vernon. The son of Chapter Seven is trained by Marcus Melander for Delray Beach, Fla. co-owners Courant Inc. and S R F Stable.
Chapter Fashion (Bartlett, post four) also won a state-bred event here and has hit the board in all but one of his six tries.
Post time for the 12-race card is the evening standard of 6:50 p.m.