BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY, Tuesday, March 7,
2017—Yonkers Raceway’s stakes season continued Tuesday night, with five
divisions beginning the Sagamore Hill Pacing Series.
The series, named for Long Island estate
of Theodore Roosevelt, is open to 3- and 4-year-old gentlemen who are/were
non-winners of four races and/or $40,000 through this past Dec. 1st.
Never Say Never N (Jason Bartlett, $2.70) made it 3-for-3 stateside with an off-the-pace, 1:55.2 victory in the opening, $20,000 division. From post position No. 5, he moved from fifth to the lead down the backside, opening a couple of lengths in the lane.
He held off a cone-skimming Western Tyrant
(Yannick Gingras) by a neck, with Bass Player (Jordan Stratton) a rallying
third.
For Never Say Never N, a 4-year-old Down
Under Bettor’s Delight gelding co-owned by Thomas Lazzaro & Gerard
Stuchbury and trained by Heidi Rohr, it was his fourth win in eight career
starts. The exacta paid $12, with the triple returning $57.50.
Canadian interloper Awesomeness (Scott
Zeron, $2.10) was the second 1-20 proposition in as many nights, winning the
night’s final series event (from post No. 5) in a down-the-road 1:55.
The 4-year-old Mach Three gelding, who
invaded after beating up Woodbine’s Snowshoe Series, defeated 43-1
Wishiwasagigolo (Stratton) by a couple of lengths for a fifth (consecutive) win
in six seasonal starts. Rock Power (Bartlett) was third. The exacta paid $29,
with the triple returning $47.80.
The winner is owned by Martin Scharf and
trained by Aaron Lambert.
Tuesday
night’s other Sagamore Hill sojourns went to…
--Prejudice,g,4 (by Western Terror);
co-owners William Sartin,Mark Salerno/trainer Joseph DeCarlo/driver Stratton;
(life-best) 1:53/$3.50;
--Ideal Son,g,4 (by American Ideal); owner Howard Taylor/trainer Tom
Fanning/driver Bartlett; 1:54.3/$7.50;
--Artmagic,g,4 (by Art Major); owner Bamond Racing/trainer Jeffrey Bamond
Jr./driver Brent Holland; (matches life-best) 1:54.1/$13.20.
The opening-round hunch play, the Teddy Roosevelt-coined phrase Bully Pulpit,
was a non-factor fifth in the fourth division.
