Batavia, NY — Lanjo Lee and El Toro Loco starred in co-features at Batavia Downs during the Sunday (July 26) afternoon matinee, and both were leading men from gate to wire.
The $13,500 Open pace came first, and Lanjo Lee turned in his fastest performance of the year.
Kyle Cummings sent Lanjo Lee to the front from post three and took the field to the half in a tepid :58.1. But the pace was about to quicken when Lip Reader A (Drew Monti) came calling in the breeze and paced alongside Lanjo Lee at three-quarters. The two matched strides around the bend, but Lanjo Lee had the swifter foot by the time they reached the stretch. After putting away Lip Reader A, Lanjo Lee bolted home under no urging whatsoever from Cummings and won by 2-3/4 lengths in a season’s best 1:53.4 mile that featured a :55.3 last half and :27.3 final quarter.
It was the fifth win of the year for Lanjo Lee ($7.76), who is owned by Gordon Swift and trained by Tammy Cummings.
The next race was the $13,500 Open Handicap trot where El Toro Loco clearly exerted his dominance.
El Toro Loco was given the go from Shawn Gray and the pair took up residency on the point, where Gray sat chilly for the rest of the race that never seemed in doubt. With HP Maestro (Denny Bucceri) sitting a loose pocket, El Toro Loco glided through fractions of :29, :59.2 and 1:27.4, while widening his lead to 2-3/4 lengths at that point. After coming off turn four, Gray merely swished El Toro Loco’s tail to let him know he wasn’t finished yet and the trotter responded by motoring home ahead by three open lengths in 1:57.2. It was also the fifth win this year for El Toro Loco ($5.42), who is the top trotter from the Mike Torcello stable. Sam Smith trains the gelded son of Walner-Southwind Cabaret.
Shawn Gray, Brett Macdonald and Drew Monti were top drivers for the afternoon with three wins apiece on Sunday while Dave Russo, Sam Smith and Walter Whelan topped all trainers with two tallies each.
Live racing will resume at Batavia Downs on Wednesday (July 29) at 5 p.m.
Free full card past performance programs for every live card of racing at Batavia Downs can always be downloaded at the track’s website (bataviadownsgaming.com) under the “Live Racing” tab. And you can watch all the races live as they happen for free on the Batavia Downs YouTube page.