by Frank Drucker, publicity director, Yonkers Raceway

Yonkers, NY — The New York Sire Stakes caravan returns downstate Monday night, July 26, with Yonkers Raceway hosting the $275,512 Mount Vernon Pace for 3-year-old fillies.

Three divisions — races four, six and eight — have been carded as part of the 13-race extravaganza.

Monday night’s first ($90,604) grouping includes Love And Honor (Doug R. Ackerman, post three) leading a competitive half-dozen. The homebred daughter of Art Major was a handy statebred winner two starts ago at Goshen. Chatty Kathy (Corey Braden, post two) has hit the board in eight of her 10 seasonal starts.

The evening’s second ($92.304) Sire Stakes event finds next-door neighbors Tia Maria Hanover (Jim Marohn, Jr., post five) and Shaky Hanover (Eric Goodell, post six) colliding. Both are daughters of Bettor’s Delight. The former, board-certified in all but one of her 10 efforts this season, owns NYSS wins at Buffalo and Tioga. The latter, trying to find her footing after a pair of breaks, banked in excess of $204,000 a season ago.

Monday night’s final ($92,304) Mount Vernon division finds defending statebred champ Hula’s Z Tam (Patrick Lachance, post one) going after a third consecutive victory. The Bettor’s Delight miss, with two wins and two seconds in four ’10 efforts, was a statebred winner here late last month. Her career resume includes eight wins and three seconds in 11 starts ($358,218).

Hula’s Z Tam is going to have to work for it, though, what with the likes of Galimony (David Miller, post two) staring her in the face. The Artiscape ma’am encored her own NYSS win with a solid victory in the Tompkins-Geers at Tioga. For the season, Galimony has won thrice (with two seconds) in her six work nights, including whipping her nemesis in the $202,200 final of Tioga’s Empire Breeders Classic.

Yonkers’ current live schedule (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday) remains in effect, with first post at 7:10 p.m. Evening simulcasting accompanies all live programs, with afternoon simulcasting available around the NYRA schedule. Please be advised that Saratoga Racecourse is beginning its 40-day meeting Friday afternoon.