BY FRANK
DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY, Saturday, May 24, 2014—As
was the case in the eliminations for Yonkers Raceway’s Art Rooney Pace,
death-and-taxes favorites in the elims for the Lismore (3-year-old pacing
fillies) were no better than a 50-50- proposition.
Southwind Silence (George Brennan,
$2.90) was a handy, wire-to-wire winner in the first, $20,000 elimination. From
post position No. 4, she threw down essentially equal halves (:28, 57.1, 1:26, 1:54) before winning by a
length-and-a-half. Bettor Business (Dan Dube), last season’s upset New York
Sire Stakes champ, snapped second over an-early-impeded Palm Beach (Jim Morrill
Jr.). It Was Fascination (Scott Zeron) was far ahead of the misbehaving A
Little Starstruk (Jason Bartlett), the former earning her place in next
Saturday’s final.
For “Silence,” a daughter of Well Said
co-owned (as Burke Racing) by (trainer) Ron Burke, Larry Karr and Joe DiScala
Jr., it was her first win in two seasonal starts. The exacta paid $11.60, with no
triple wagering.
The second elim for the Lismore saw
inside number Also Encouraging (Brian Sears) sent off as the 35-cents
on-the-dollar favorite. After moving from third, she secured the lead from Tyra
(Morrill Jr.) at the :57.1 half (:28.3 quarter).
However, Also Encouraging had no
resistance when Rusty’s Bliss (Jason Bartlett) came challenging. “Rusty” gained
the lead just after the 1:26.4 three-quarters, but with no one behind her,
Tyra—from post No. 2--was able to slip out….and slip by. Tyra whipped a
stubborn “Rusty” by a length-and-a-half in 1:54.4. Gentlemen’s Delight (Dan
Dube) was third, with Also Encouraging fading to fourth. That earned her a
place at the table next week, but was of no solace those place pool bridge
jumpers ($29,422 of the $32,153 on the beaten choice).
For Tyra, a daughter of McArdle owned by
CC Racing and trained by Joann Looney-King, she returned $6.50 (second choice)
for her first win in three ’14 tries. The exacta paid $105.50, with the triple
returning $177. With the jumpers taking their leap, the place prices were
$20.80 and $62.50, respectively.
The open draw for the $124,744 final of
the Lismore takes places Tuesday afternoon.
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 daily.
