Eight divisions of 2-year-old trotting colts and
geldings will be on display in the $132,000 New York Sires Stakes and in the
$63,500 Excelsior Series at Monticello Raceway on Thursday afternoon,
July 11.
Of the eight events for the New York-breds there will
be three divisions of NY Sires Stakes each racing for a purse of $44,000 and
five $12,700 splits of Excelsior Series trots. In all, 14 races are on
tap that day.
The Monticello events are the second leg in the season-long
Sires Stakes series for freshmen trotting colts and geldings which will
culminate in a $225,000 Final at Yonkers Raceway later this year for the
youngsters who earn the most points in the NYSS races which will be contested
at various New York harness tracks around the state during the summertime.
The first stop was at Buffalo Raceway on June 30 and now the
winners of events there are making their way here for the competitions.
Arguably the best of the crop, at least early- on, appears
to be The Lindy Treaty whose 2:01.2 victory at Buffalo was an
eye-opening performance. The Conway Hall-Peace A Pie colt will be the one
to beat in the second NYSS split—race 11- when trainer- driver Ray Schnittker
gets up behind him and they leave from post position eight.
The colt is owned by Schnittker and The Lindy Treaty Stable.
Among his competition is Izzy Jokin, an altered son of
RC Royalty-Graduation Party, who was a 2:05.2 NYSS winner for Chris Lems at
Buffalo for owners Albert & Michelle Crawford and James A. Crawford IV.
George Ducharme trains and Chris Lems will again drive when the colt starts
from the pole position.
Lems and Ducharme will team-up again in the third NYSS
division- race 12 on the card-when they send out My Friend Charley whom Lems
guided to a 2:01.3 triumph last week at Buffalo.
The RC Royalty-Sand Moxie gelding is owned by Paul Fontaine
and will leave from the three hole.
Arguably the softest of the three NYSS splits is the first
division, race six on the card. All eight colts are in the contest are
non-winners of a pari-mutuel race although Andrea Pratt’s and Jimmy
Wittemore’s Flyhawk El Durado was second to The Lindy Treaty at Buffalo
individually clocked in 2:02.2.
Jimmy Wittemore trains and will drive the Conway Hall-El
Paso Gal colt when they leave from the seven hole.
The undercard will feature five Excelsior Series freshmen
trots and local railbirds will get to see Hall of Famer’s, Cat Manzi, John
Campbell, and Jim Doherty along with Jimmy Morrill, Jr. and Jason Bartlett,
among others, in various NYSS events on Thursday.
Post time for the first of 14 races will be at 12:50pm.
