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Friday’s (July 19) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Yonkers Raceway and Vernon Downs.

Royal Cee Cee N, Monsignor Flan win Yonkers co-features

Yonkers, NY — Yonkers Raceway’s pair of humid Friday night $46,000 Open Handicaps — a pace for ladies and a trot for either/or — were won by Royal Cee Cee N (Jordan Stratton, $5.70) and Monsignor Flan (Brent Holland, $7.80).

Mike Lizzi photo

Royal Cee Cee N was a 1:53.2 winner for driver Jordan Stratton.

Royal Cee Cee N, assigned post seven as the 9-5 favorite, worked around Brownville Bomber (Daniel Dube), grabbing the lead right at the :28.1 opening quarter-mile. After a spongy :29.1 second interval (:57.2 half), Darena Hanover (George Brennan) moved from fifth, offering just a mild intrusion in and out of a 1:25.3 three-quarters.

Royal Cee Cee N owned a 1-1/2 length lead into the lane, then maintained that margin to the wire in 1:53.2. Brownsville Bomber completed a two-speed number, with It’s De Lovely (Brian Sears), Matchmaker victress Feeling You (Eric Goodell) and Four Starz Roe (Jason Bartlett) grabbing the remainder.

For Royal Cee Cee N, a 7-year-old Down Under daughter of Christian Cullen owned and trained by Mark Harder, it was her fifth win (second consecutive) in 15 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $26.20 and the triple returned $289.50.

Monsignor Flan, from post six, took on all comers and held off all comers in a season’s best-matching 1:55.1.

He made the lead from Somebody AS (Jeff Gregory) before a zippy :27.3 opening quarter. After a :56.3 intermission, outside assignees Little Brown Fox (Sears) and last week’s winner, Tall Cotton (Brennan) — each of whom had found early seats — were first- and second-up. Monsignor Flan found a 1:25.4 three-quarters, taking a three-quarter length lead in and out of the final turn.

The cavalry was coming from all sides, but the Monsignor hung in there. He nipped a second-up Tall Cotton by a nose, with Little Brown Fox, as the 8-5 fave, third. A knifing-through Lorenzo Dream (Jim Pantaleano) and Somebody AS settled for small change in a race where the first four finishers were divided by a neck and five payees were separated by a half-length at the wire.

Second choice Monsignor Flan, a 6-year-old S J’s Photo homebred gelding owned by Tanah Merah Farms and trained by Erv Miller, is now 6-for-22 this season. The exacta paid $45.80, the triple returned $141 and the superfecta paid $604.

Friday’s card also included the fourth (and final) round of the Jackpot Next Door Claiming Series for $20,000 claiming pacers. Next Friday’s finals go for $76,000 (boys) and $59,500 (girls).

— Frank Drucker

Vernon Downs
The steady-striding trotter Dreamanotherdream became a reality after a front-ending 1:54.3 victory in Friday night’s $10,000 featured Open-1 contest at Vernon Downs. John MacDonald was at the controls for trainer Edgar Clark in Friday’s 10th event as Dreamanotherdream led at every station and had enough left at the finish to defeat the pocket-sitting Client Nine by three-quarters of a length and earn a fresh win mark. The bold-going journey resulted in the third season’s score (second at the Downs) and 24th lifetime victory for the gritty 7-year-old gelding that hasn’t finished worse than second in his last three outings. Dennis Goyette owns the career winner of more than $130,000. Clark was credited with a conditioning double after his charge, Style Advisor, paced to her maiden victory (1:56.2) in Friday’s 12th event. Roman Lopez logged three driving victories and a pair of training credits during Vernon’s 38th program and moved into sole possession of second place on the meet’s conditioning chart with 24 victories. Driving doubles were recorded during the 12-race card by Rick Plano (his meet-leading 13th), Jimmy Whittemore and Brian Connor. Lopez leads in driving triples at the meet with eight.