Racing Roundup: Cappello wins five at Saratoga
August 22, 2009,from Harness Publicists across North America
Saturday’s (August 22) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Saratoga Raceway, Tioga Downs, Vernon Downs and Ocean Downs.
Cappello wins five at Saratoga
Saratoga Springs, NY — For driver Dan Cappello, Jr., Saturday night was a fitting conclusion to the biggest week of the year to date.
Dave Oxford photo
Russell Hill was one of five winners for Dan Cappello, Jr.
After starting out the week with a six-win evening on Tuesday and following it up with a Wednesday night hat trick, the Saratoga veteran piloted five winners on the Saturday night card, including two wins in the New York Sire Stakes.
Currently second in the driver standings, Cappello scored front running wins in the $73,639 stakes races with Russell Hill, for trainer Jimmy Takter, and America, for trainer Richard Norman. Cappello also had a winner in the third leg of the Joe Gerrity Memorial Pacing Series with Jazzy Jeff.
America’s win in 1:59.1 matched the time set by Rookie Mistake, who won from post eight earlier in the card for trainer Jody Weidman and driver Brian Cross. Russell Hill, who like Rookie Mistake overcame post eight for his Saturday stakes win, stopped the timer just a tick slower in 1:59.2.
Live racing resumes on Tuesday night with Sire Stakes action set for Wednesday at the Spa. Post times for both nights is 7:20 p.m.
— Mike Sardella
Mctone Cold wins Kindergarten Classic event at Tioga
Nichols, NY — Mctone Cold captured the first victory of his young career in the lone division of the Kindergarten Classic for 2-year-old colt and gelding pacers on Saturday (Aug. 22) at Tioga Downs.
Fred Brown Photography
Mctone Cold won his Kindergarten Classic race in 1:54.2.
Howard Parker moved the son of McArdle-Mattonement to the front past the three-eighth pole and controlled the race from there through fractions of :56.3 and 1:25 before pacing home in a final panel of :29.2 to win by a length in 1:54.2. Frank Antonacci trains Mctone Cold for Lindy Racing Stable and Mike Rashkin, who purchased him for a mere $6,000 as a yearling. JK Kinahurra and Jimmy Marohn, Jr. got up for second, while Gentleman Friend (Gareth Dowse) hung on for third.
Posting the fastest division for 2-year-old filly pacers was Electricity and Jimmy Marohn, Jr. for trainer Linda Toscano. The daughter of Village Jolt-Dancing Falcon made the quarter pole move with Marohn and cut through fractions of :28.1, :57.3 and 1:25.4 before coasting home a winner in 1:55. It was the first win in two lifetime starts for the $10,000 yearling purchase owned by the Enviro Stables.
Winning the other leg for freshman filly pacers was Our Little Dragon and Howard Parker for trainer Frank Antonacci in a lifetime best equaling 1:56.3.
Howard Parker posted five wins on the night’s 10-race card, while Jimmy Marohn, Jr. posted a driving triple.
— Dustin Ross
The Best scores in 1:50.4 at Vernon
Vernon, NY — The Best recorded one of the fastest miles of the season while capturing Saturday night’s $9,000 Open Handicap Pace in 1:50.4 at Vernon Downs.
After A and G’s Winner led the eight-horse field to the quarter in :26 seconds, Outlaw Blues took over and cut splits of :55.2 at the half and 1:22.2 to three-quarters. With Bill Bailey doing the teaming, The Best moved from fourth in the final turn to second entering pay dirt, and then rallied to defeat the closing Hay Goodlooking by a head in Saturday’s featured eighth race. As the seventh wagering choice, The Best paid $33.80 after collecting his second season’s score.
The 1:50.4 clocking was just one tick of the timer off the Vernon standard for aged pacing geldings, set by Chewy Gross in 2006, and it was just two-fifths of a second off the track’s fastest mile in 2009, established by the pacer Riggins on August 2. The speedy performance also resulted in a new win record for the 5-year-old son of Pro Bono Best-Guerilla Girl. Lonny Hale trains the career-winner of $252,341 for owner Rocco Manzi.
— Jim Moran
Miller wins with Elite Sakra at Ocean Downs
Berlin, MD — Elite Sakra ($8.60) went wire-to-wire to win the ninth race on Saturday at Ocean Downs in 2:03. The 7-year-old horse was driven to victory by Devan Miller. Less than two minutes later at the Meadowlands, a certain David Miller was also first to cross the finish line. David won a 4-year-old Preferred race with Lookout Hanover.
The 20-year-old Devan Miller is the daughter of the aforementioned David Miller. Driving in just one race Saturday, Devan managed to grab a win, just before her father did in New Jersey.
“Really? He did?,” exclaimed the elated driver with a huge smile on her face. “That’s crazy because it almost happened at exactly the same time.”
Winning on the same day has been something the Millers have done before. Earlier this year the father and daughter combination both won races at Freehold Raceway. David took the third race on the card, while Devan won the seventh. Saturday, taking it a huge step further, the two drivers replaced four races in between their wins with 120 seconds.
The feature race Saturday evening included nine competitors, four of which had won their last race at Ocean Downs. A Canuck Eh had won his last two races, while Bet The Aces, Life In My Day and Border Raider N had won their last contest. The morning line picked both Border Raider N and A Canuck Eh as the 5-1 favorites.
Border Raider N ($5.20) sat four back until just before the final turn, when the 8-year-old gelding turned on the turbo. Driven by Blake Baker, the gelding blasted past his opponents and took the wire in 1:57, winning by five lengths.
— Ozi Menakaya