BY FRANK
DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY, Friday, March 20, 2015—In
theory, spring sprung Friday night, with Yonkers Raceway hosting the snowy
opening round of the Blue Chip Matchmaker.
Three compact, $40,000 fields of the
some of the best Free-For-All pacing mares went it at.
Friday’s first Matchmaker mélange went to a grinding Venus Delight (Jason
Bartlett, $6.10), who picked off pace-setting (:27.4, :57.1, 1:25.2) Charisma
Hanover (George Brennan) in 1:55.1. Sitting fourth early from post position No.
3, slight wagering choice “Venus” wore down the leader, winning by
three-quarters of a length. Coffee Addict (Jordan Stratton) was a pocket third.
For season-debuting Venus Delight, a
5-year-old daughter of Bettor’s Delight owned by Bamond Racing and trained by
Jeff Bamond Jr., it was her 18th win in 44 career starts. The exacta
paid $28, with the triple returning $83.
The second Matchmaker event couldn’t
have been much easier for pole-sitting, odds-on Carolsideal (Dan Dube, $2.90).
She sauntered through the snow (:29.3, :59.1, 1:28, 1:55.4), whipping a
pocketed Camille (Brennan) by a length-and-three-quarters, with Anndrovette
(Tim Tetrick) a very good, two-move third in her first start of the season.
For Carolsideal,
a 6-year-old daughter of Western Ideal trained by Rene Allard for co-owners
himself (as Allard Racing), Yves Sarazin and Kapildeo Singh, it was her sixth
win in seven ’15 tries. The exacta paid $4.90, with the triple (three wagering
favorites in order) returning $13.20.
The final
division, pared down to a barber shop (beauty shop?) quartet after defending
series champ Somwherovrarainbow came up ill, saw Krispy Apple (Tetrick, $5)
pass the rest of the field—all three of ‘em—to win going away.
Backing away
early from post No. 2, Krispy Apple saw 7-5 fave Medusa (Brennan) work around
Monkey on My Wheel (Bartlett), then put up intervals of :28.2, :58 of 1:26.4.
It was Krispy Apple making her move around a tiring Strings (Dube) and steadily
advancing toward the lead.
With “Monkey”
wandering out of the pocket, Krispy Apple went inside, defeating Medusa by a
couple of lengths in 1:55.2.
For second
choice/season-debuting Krispy Apple, a 7-year-old millionaires daughter of
Western Ideal trained by Bamond Jr. for co-owners Bamond Racing and Joe Davino,
she’s now 28-for-93 lifetime.
The Raceway’s live season continues Saturday night (post time 7:10 PM), with
the opening round of the George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series. After that,
it’s Monday (7:10 PM), Tuesday (1 PM), then Thursday through Saturday (all at
7:10 PM). Note Sunday matinees are done until November. Evening simulcasting
accompanies all night programs, with afternoon simulcasting available daily.
