from harness publicists across North America
Saturday’s (July 30) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Yonkers Raceway, Saratoga Casino and Raceway, Tioga Downs, Batavia Downs, Vernon Downs and Scioto Downs.
Wind Surfer takes top Yonkers trot
Yonkers, NY — Wind Surfer (Jim Pantaleano) closed from well out of it Saturday night, winning Yonkers Raceway’s co-featured $52,000 Open Handicap Trot.
Tom Berg photo
Wind Surfer was a 2:03.1 winner in the Open Handicap Trot.
Whata Hustler (Brent Holland) set sail though fractions of :27.2 and :56.4. Neighsay Hanover (Jeff Gregory) then made his second move, leaving the cones from fourth. Whata Hustler, though, continued his open lead in and out of the 1:25.3 three-quarters, owning a 3-1/2 length lead off the final turn.
The leader remained so at the 1:55.4 mile marker. However, the closers began to get closer, with Wind Surfer — sitting fifth from post position No. 3 — and KLM Express (Steve Smith) on the scene latest — and fastest.
Wind Surfer was able to get the better of KLM Express (last turning for home), winning by a half-length while negotiating the mile and one-sixteenth in 2:03.1. Neighsay Hanover was third, beaten a length, with Whata Hustler and 9-5 favorite Looking Hanover (Eric Goodell) coming away with the remainder.
Wind Surfer, a 6-year-old Muscles Yankee gelding trained by Ron Burke for co-owners Betty Sherman and James Koran, returned $9.30 (third choice) for his third win in 14 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $138, the triple returned $667 and the superfecta paid $2,954.
Saturday’s co-featured Filly and Mare Open Handicap Pace saw 9-10 choice Full Picture (Gregory) move first-up, duck into a vacant pocket, then prevail.
Docdor Libby (Pantaleano), a $12,500 claimer two starts ago, made the lead from an eight hole here, though it cost her, as evidenced by early fractions of :26 and 54.4. Full Picture, leaving from post No. 3, moved from fourth between that half and the 1:23.1 three-quarters. She found a rest stop when longshot Joyfuljoy N (Mark Lewis) backed out of the pocket.
Meanwhile, Docdor Libby had a 1-1/2 length lead entering the lane, but was getting tired by the 1:52.1 mile number. Full Picture went by, as did Cannae Cammie (Holland). The former whipped the latter by three-quarters of a length, getting the mile and one-sixteenth in 1:59.2. Docdor Libby, Cotton Candy (Patrick Lachance) and Billmar Scooter (Jordan Stratton) rounded out the payees.
Full Picture, a 4-year-old daughter of Artsplace owned by Marvin Rounick and trained by Jerry Silverman, returned $3.80 for her seventh win in 15 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $34, with the triple returning $158.
— Frank Drucker
Saratoga Casino and Raceway
The third annual Joe Gerrity, Jr. Memorial Series got underway on Saturday night at Saratoga Casino and Raceway. The series for Open pacers saw three $25,000 divisions of the first leg contested on a beautiful evening at the Spa. The series’ fastest winner was Go Go Solano (Bettor’s Delight), who recorded his first victory of the season by taking advantage of an early speed duel to pace past his rivals in 1:51.1. The win time matched the fastest of the year at Saratoga, equaling the mark set by He’s Gorgeous on May 14. Vinnie Ginsburg was at the lines for trainer Jordan Rubin as Go Go Solano finally put it all together to score a victory after hitting the board in 10 of 19 tries on the season without a win. Fellow invader This Is Wyatt (Astreos) won the second division on Saturday as driver Dan Cappello, Jr. sat patiently in the pocket before pouncing in the stretch for the 1:51.3 victory. This Is Wyatt is trained by Boyd Hudson, Jr. The third and final division of leg one of the Gerrity Series was also won by a horse making his local debut. Urgent Action (Artsplace) was aggressive on the front end and drew clear in the stretch to prevail in 1:51.3 for Mark Beckwith. The pacers made bids for not only a piece of the $25,000 purse but for points towards the August 20 final which will go for an estimated $125,000.
Tioga Downs
Aruba Vacation has been stabled at Tioga Downs since he began training for Guy Howard in his 2-year-old season and has been a force to reckon with on his home turf. On Saturday night, the 4-year-old son of Dream Vacation–Dixie Hit notched his first win of the 2011 season at Tioga Downs in the $18,000 Open Handicap Trot. Leaving aggressively from post position two, driver Fern Paquet, Jr. relinquished the lead to Get Chipped (Michael Merton) and sat the garden spot through fractions of :27.3, :57.1 and 1:26.4. As the field rounded the final turn Paquet was tired of waiting and pulled the pocket and trotted right by the pacesetter on his way to an open length romp in 1:55.4. The mile was just a fifth of a second off the current track record for 4-year-old gelding trotters set by Strong Hall and Barry Segal in 2009. Howd That Feel (Jason MacDougall) found room late in the lane to pick up second, while Winbak Red (Phil Fluet), despite a tough first over grind, hung on for third.
Batavia Downs
A $10,000 Preferred Pace and two $12,200 New York Bred late closers highlighted the Saturday night program, closing out the first week of live harness racing at Batavia Downs Casino. In the Preferred, Barbara Andrels’ Lake Shark sat in the two hole the entire mile, angled out at the top of the stretch and roared home down the center of the racetrack to notch his sixth win of the season in 1:54.3. John Cummings, Jr. was in the sulky for trainer Mike Carrubba. New York Prine (Chris Page) closed up the pylons to be second while Cry For Cash (Ron Beback, Jr.) rallied to be third. Lake Shark, a 4-year-old son of Four Starzzz Shark was claimed for $18,750 back in May. He’s earned $189,752 lifetime. In NYSS late closing action, Southwind Inferno went right to the top and held on in a three horse blanket finish to score his fourth win of the season in 1:55.1 for trainer Andy Sardella and reinsman John Cummings, Jr. The gelded son of American Ideal is owned in partnership by Michael Pozefsky, William Pozefsky and Myron Ekstein. Bubbie Boy never really had an anxious moment when he cruised to a daylight win in 1:57 in the other NYSS late closer of the evening. Jack Flanigen was at the lines for trainer Cory McGivern. Bubbie Boy, a gelded son of Artiscape, is owned by Richard Mersky.
Vernon Downs
Joseph Appler’s pacer Sri Panka used the inside route to post a 1:54.3 victory in Saturday night’s $8,000 featured seventh race at Vernon Downs. Sitting second for most of the week’s Open-2 contest, Sri Panka ($8.50) found himself hemmed in behind the pacesetting Johnny Midnight and other rallying contenders heading down the stretch. Driver Frank Davis, sitting in for trainer John Gagnon, Jr., had no choice but to try and maneuver his charge through tight quarters in the lower pylon path and, together, they managed to squirt through and post a 1-1/4 length victory over Johnny Midnight. It marked the initial win in this class, the second victory at the meet, fourth first-place finish of the season and the 12th all-time for the 5-year-old son of The Panderosa-Road To Pandalay, who now sports career earnings of $134,726.
Scioto Downs
The 10-year-old Ohio warhorse Camcoder pushed his earnings past $250,000 with a victory in the Open Pace at Scioto Downs on Saturday night. David Myers drove the veteran to an easy 1:54.1 win over pacesetting Lis Deo. Camcoder now has $250,047 in earnings in 249 career starts. The Cam’s Magic Trick son was bred and is still owned by Tony E. Coder. His victory was the fourth of the 2011 season in nine starts. Camcoder is trained by Michael Smith. Jack Dailey sent Lis Deo quickly to the front from his inside position and Camcoder fell in on his back early in the :28 opening quarter. Then Dailey tapped the brakes with Lis Deo and the top pacer idled through a second quarter in :29.2 as David Myers sat patiently in the pocket with Camcoder. I Ota Win and driver Kayne Kauffman ranged up to challenge Lis Deo nearing the half, promting a speed duel through the third quarter in :27.4. I Ota win kept up the pressure on the leader, but couldn’t get past him. Once the pacers turned into the homestretch, Myers hustled Camcoder to the inside and the old warrior responded willingly to sail past Lis Deo to win by three-quarters of a length.