Real Nice wins Yonkers Open

Yonkers, NY — Odds-on favorite Real Nice (Jordan Stratton, $3.30) worked out a pocket trip Saturday night, winning Yonkers Raceway’s $44,000 Open Handicap Pace.

Justin Grasso photo

Real Nice was a 1:52 winner for Jordan Stratton.

Leaving from post position three, Real Nice made the lead before a :27.1 opening quarter-mile. He then relinquished that role to eight hole assignee Great Vintage (Daniel Dube), who negotiated a :55.3 half. Rock ‘Em (Larry Stalbaum) then moved from fifth, prompting through a :28.1 third quarter (1:23.4). That one gave way grudgingly as Great Vintage owned a 1-1/2 length lead into the lane.

However, his advantage in the polls was about up, as Real Nice ducked inside and edged by, winning by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:52. Or (Jason Bartlett), who had slipped out behind Rock ‘Em, slipped into second, with a from-last Sapphire City (Brent Holland), Rock ‘Em and Eagle All (Eric Goodell) rounding out the payees. Great Vintage faded to seventh.

For Real Nice, a millionaire 7-year-old Real Artist gelding co-owned by Gary and Beverly Paganelli and Anthony Scussel and trained by Rich Banca, it was his ninth win in 23 seasonal starts (41st career victory). The exacta paid $15.40, with the triple returning $166.50.

— Frank Drucker

Saratoga
Silent Swing won his third consecutive local Open on Saturday night at Saratoga Casino and Raceway. The classy 10-year-old was assigned post eight in the $21,000 Open Pace but had the lead within the first sixteenth of a mile. The Mark Ford trained classmaster never faced a challenge, though he had to endure an opening quarter in :26.4 and a half in :55.4. Silent Swing (Northern Luck) had plenty left for the stretch run and thwarted a late bid by rival Goose Creek by closing in a final quarter of :27.3 while stopping the timer in 1:51.4. Goose Creek (Jim Devaux) was a fast second while White Mountain Top (Stephane Bouchard) was third. Billy Dobson piloted Silent Swing to his Open score.

Vernon Downs
The gritty gelding Western Tsunami toughed out a 1:50.3 victory in Saturday night’s $11,000 Open Pace, while Rick Plano was honored as the leading horseman of the 59th harness racing season at Vernon Downs. Taking on four fleet-footed foes in Saturday’s featured first race, Western Tsunami ($8.10) stalked the race’s pace-setters — Sheer Brilliance at the quarter and Pacinello for most of the remainder of the mile — before rallying from fifth in the final quarter to overtake the Plano-piloted Pacinello and pull out a one length triumph. Western Tsunami, who has only finished off the payoff board once in his last nine trips to the track, earned his fourth Vernon victory of 2012, his sixth season’s score and 46th lifetime tally. Jonathan Roberts did the teaming for trainer Tracy Brainard and her ownership partner, Andrew Herzog, as the 9-year-old son of Western Hanover-Rons Girl increased his career winnings to $360,620. The time was just two-ticks of the clock off of his all-time speed mark, earned three seasons ago. Roberts went on to capture Saturday’s fifth race with the Hale Storm Stable’s pacer Stettin Hanover and recorded his fourth driving double at the 88-program meeting. Plano posted victories with the pacers Moonlight Ransom (1:51.3), Lucky Sniper (1:53.2) and trotter Dipietrantonio (1:58.3) to conclude his current Vernon venture as the leading driver with 159 first-place finishes and top trainer with 78 tallies. He will be shipping his strong stable to Florida’s Pompano Park early next week, missing the final two programs (Nov. 2 and 3) of the track’s season. Former Downs training champ Lonny Hale was also credited with a pair of first-place finishes during Saturday’s 12-race card.

Rosecroft
On a night where all eyes were on Maryland Sire Stakes champions Googoo Gaagaa and Bonnie Ben Jamin, Rocket Rosy made it an impressive five wins in a row for owner-trainer Roger Hans. After taking most of the summer off, Rocket Rosy qualified on Sept. 8 at Rosecroft and was second best in that race. She then followed that up with a solid place finish in her return to the racing wars, when she missed by a head. She then scored a wire-to-wire win with Justin Vincent at the controls in a cheaper conditioned race. She followed that with a massive parked the mile score over medium level conditioned horses. Next she faced a strong field of males and worked out a ground-saving two hole trip in rein to Frank Milby. Last week she once again worked out a two hole trip and was along in time for Milby. Saturday night she and Milby took no prisoners with a rousing wire-to-wire win in a lifetime mark equaling 1:54.1. She held off a fast closing Shaker Rei (John Gazzerro) for the second week in a row. She now has five wins, four place finishes and a show in 16 seasonal starts.