by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway
HAMBURG,N.Y. --- Hopefully the Buffalo Raceway keeper of
track records had plenty of erasers on hand Saturday night (May 30).
Unicorn Hanover set two track records in the opener by going
the mile in 1:52.4 in the $9,500 Open II Pace. He produced new standards for
the all-age geldings and aged (5+) pacing divisions.
But Fireyourguns wasn't going to be outdone on the muggy
night.
Not only did the 6-year-old Fireyourguns (Mike Caprio)
shatter the records just set by Unicorn Hanover in the previous race, he took
it a step further by breaking the all-time track record with a sizzling 1:52.0
time in the $10,500 Open Pace. It broke the old mark of 1:52.3 notched by
Steelhead Hanover back in 2012.
The record times that were broken by Unicorn Hanover and 15
minutes later by Fireyourguns were the 1:53.1 time put up by Gimmebackmybullets
for the all-age geldings in 2007 and the aged (5+) record of 1:53.2 scored by
Lieback in 2006.
Returning to the races after a two-week layoff, Fireyourguns
showed that his arsenal was fully loaded. Starting from the outside seven post,
Caprio knew he was headed to the top and got there with relative ease with
Fireyourguns as Cobble Beach (Kevin Cummings) put up mild resistance from the
pylons.
"Before the race, (trainer) Terence McClory said
you're leaving with him (Fireyourguns) tonight because he's a lot fresher right
now," Caprio said.
After a rather soft opening quarter of 27.3, Caprio and
Fireyourguns ($5.00) put a middle half mile of 56.0, hitting the three-quarter
mark in 1:23.3. From there, it wasn't a matter of who was going to win, it was
a matter of how fast.
"When I saw the time on the board at the three-quarter
pole, I figured it was time to pull the plugs," Caprio
said. Fireyourguns went 28.2 in the final leg to score a three-length win
over Cobble Beach. Western Alumni (Drew Monti) took the show spot.
Co-owned by McClory along with Jennifer and Robert Lowe,
Fireyourguns is now a perfect 3-for-3 on the season, earning $17,500 in 2015
and $237,621 lifetime.
In the opener, Unicorn Hanover ($4.50) went three-wide down
the backstretch the final time and pulled away to throttled down two-length
victory over Bakken in a short-lived record time of 1:52.4.
After sitting fourth past the half-mile in 56.0 posted by
Little Man Cam, Unicorn Hanover (Shawn McDonough) followed the first-over cover
of Burton Blue Chip and then used the three-wide move to take command by two
lengths at the top of the stretch, tripping the clock in a lifetime best of
1:52.4. Bakken (Ray Fisher Jr.) took the second place position while Peenie
(Kevin Cummings) finished in third.
Owned by Mike Torcello and trained by Gerry Sarama, the
8-year-old gelded Unicorn Hanover (Four-Starzz Shark-Up Front Georgia) has now
won twice in eight starts in 2015, winning $17,135 and $378,942 lifetime.
Racing will continue on Wednesday night at Buffalo Raceway
with a 13-race card set for 5 p.m. The New York Sire Stakes returns with the
3-year-old pacing mares battling for $105,000 spread out among three
divisions.
For more information including the latest news, race
replays, results and upcoming promotions, go to www.buffaloraceway.com
