BY FRANK
DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS,
NY, Friday, July 19, 2013--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).
Royal Cee Cee N, assigned post position No. 7 as the 9-5 favorite, worked
around Brownville Bomber (Dan 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 and length-and-a-half 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 (career earnings. The exacta paid $26.20 and the triple
returned $289.50.
Monsignor Flan, from post No. 6, 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 having 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.
For second choice Monsignor Flan, a 6-year-old S J's Photo homebred gelding
owned by Tanah Merah Farms and trained by Erv Miller, he's 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 (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), respectively.
Saturday night's card features a pair of $40,000 eliminations for the 59th
Yonkers Trot--first jewel of the Trotting Triple Crown--as well as the $111,250
final of the Lawrence B. Sheppard Pace (2-year-old colts and geldings).
The
Raceway's five-night-per-week live schedule continues, with first post every
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:10 PM. Evening simulcasting
accompanies all live programs, with afternoon simulcasting available around the
NYRA schedule.
-30-
