BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY, Saturday, April 29,
2017—Lady’s Dude (George Brennan, $7.30) and All Bets Off (Brennan again,
$4.80) shared the Saturday night spotlight, winning Yonkers Raceway’s pair of $55,000
co-featured Open Handicaps.
After a couple of no-shot eight-holes,
Lady’s Dude found this post position No. 5 assignment more than acceptable in
the week’s featured trot.
Caught three-deep early, Lady’s Dude made
the lead just before a :27.1 opening
quarter-mile. He then rated a 56.4 intermission before 17-10 favorite
Melady’s Monet (Brett Miller), who had left for a seat, moved from fourth.
However, he
couldn’t get close and with a pocketed Not Afraid (Dan Dube) gapping, Lady’s
Dude had a lonely lead in and out of a 1:25 three-quarters.
The advantage
was a couple of lengths entering the lane and an unpressured
length-and-a-quarter at the wire, finding it in 1:54.3…fastest local mile of
the season.
Aggressive (Jason Bartlett) saved ground
for second, with Not Afraid third. Buen Camino offered good late interest for
fourth, with Luck O’ the Irish (Jordan Stratton) getting the final envelope and
‘Melady’ fading to seventh.
For Lady’s
Dude, a 6-year-old Victory Sam gelding co-owned (as Burke Racing) by (trainer)
Ron Burke, Johnny Yoder and Weaver Bruscemi, it was his fourth win in nine
seasonal starts (career earnings now over a half-million dollars). The exacta
paid $63, with the triple returning $267.
The week’s adult-table pace had three
unoccupied seats, as Levy Series winner Keystone Velocity and consolation
winner Clear Vision were among the defections.
The quintet was in need of a leader,
and—from post No. 3—favored All Bets Off picked up that gauntlet. Though not
the Free-For-Aller he used to be, All Bets Off was more than good enough when
left (:27.4, 56.3, 1:24.3, 1:52.1) to
his own devices.
After taking a 2½-length lead into the
lane, he held off a from-last Roland N Rock (Stratton) by three-quarters of a
length. Santa Fe Beachboy (Bartlett),. Lucan Hanover (Tyler Buter) and a
season-debuting Luck Be Withyou (Brian Sears) rounded out the order/payees.
For All Bets
Off, a 6-year-old son of Bettor’s Delight trained by Burke for co-owners
himself, Frank Baldachino, Panhellenic Stable and Weaver Bruscemi, it was his
first win in five ’17 tries. The exacta paid $14.40, with triple and superfecta
wagering cancelled.
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