BY FRANK DRUCKER,
Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS,
NY, Saturday, November 5, 2016—Favorites Mach it So (Jason Bartlett, $4.10) and
Wind of the North (also Bartlett, also $4.10) prevailed Saturday night, winning
Yonkers Raceway’s pair of $45,000 Open Handicaps.
Mach
it So won a two-speed number in the weekly pacing. From post position No. 4, he
released, then stalked, Keystone Velocity (Dan Dube) through intervals of :27.1, :55.3 and 1:23.
With
Keystone Velocity bearing up noticeably through the lane, Mach it So had ample
room to close, which he did, winning by a length-and-a-half in 1:50.2. Take it
Back Terry (George Brennan) was ground-saving third, with The Real One (Pat
Lachance) and Santa Fe Beachboy (Brian Sears) competing the cashers.
For Mach it So, a $1.5 million-earning,
6-year-old Mach Three gelding owned by Bamond Racing and trained by Jeffrey
Bamond Jr., it was his eighth win in 25 seasonal starts. The exacta (two
wagering choices) paid $9.90, the triple returned $58 and the superfecta paid
$747.
The week’s marquee trot saw Wind of the
North—from post No. 7—pay a :27.3 opening quarter price for the lead. He then
parked out eight-hole number Bourbon Bay (Ake Svanstedt) through a :56.3
intermission before that one pulled up stakes.
After a 1:25.4 three-quarters, Wind of the North
opened some room, taking 2½ lengths into the lane. He needed just about all of
it, holding off the cavalry late. Tornado Tim (Dube), last at the half and
seventh at the three-quarters, stormed to miss a half-length in 1:54.3
Cash Me Out (Tyler Buter) was a pocket third,
with Springbank Sam N (Jordan Stratton) and Luminosity (Brennan) settling for
the remainder.
For Wind of the North, a 6-year-old Cantab Hall
gelding trained by Dylan Davis for co-owners Daryl Bier and Joann Dombeck, it
was his sixth win in 23 ’16 tries. The exacta paid $31.80, with the triple
returning $105.
