by Frank Drucker, Publicity Director, Empire City at Yonkers Raceway

Yonkers, NY — Superb 3-year-old fillies Handsoffmycookie and Romantic Moment lead the Yonkers Raceway posse for Monday night’s $338,304 New York Sire Stakes Bruce Hamilton Pace.

Post time for the dozen-race agenda is 7:10 PM, with the quartet of NYSS events going as races 1, 3, 4 & 6. The races honor the memory of the former Executive Secretary of the Harness Horse Breeders of New York. Bruce was a mover and a shaker (not to mention everyone’s friend), instrumental in the tremendous success of the state-bred program.

Handsoffmycookie drew post position No. 4 in the second ($84,951) grouping. Tim Tetrick takes his usual seat for owner JFE Enterprises and trainer Scott DiDomenico. Handsoffmycookie, a daughter of Art Major, enters with 11 wins and five seconds and 16 career starts ($739,424). She has won all five of her lifetime local starts, four against other Empire-breds and last month’s $176,404 Lismore.

The opening ($84,591) division includes Centralia Hanover (Yannick Gingras) and Brownsville Bomber (Jim Morrill Jr., post 5). The former–at 22-1–whipped the latter in an NYSS event here last month (life-best 1:53.3).

Centralia Hanover, a daughter of Art Major, found her way off the seasonal schneid with that win. Mark Harder trains for co-owners Rick Phillips and W Springtime Racing. Brownsville Bomber, 3-for-8 this season, is an American Ideal Miss trained by Ed Hart for co-owners Joseph Betro, Ian Behar and Kristie Leigh Farm.

The evening’s final two sire stakes divisions, worth $83,451 and $84,951, respectively, are led by JK Fine Art (Morrill Jr., post 6) and Romantic Moment (Gingras, post 2).

Romantic Moment, a daughter of American Ideal, has hit the board in 10 of her 11 career tries and is about to go past the $400,000 earnings plateau. After finishing second to American Jewel in the $629,160 final of Mohawk’s Fan Hanover, she easily won her NYSS event here. Romantic Moment is owned by Brittany Farms and trained by Jimmy Takter.