BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY, Sunday, July 16, 2017—There
was a fair amount of Yonkers Raceway symmetry Sunday afternoon (July 16th),
as Hemi Seelster (Jason Bartlett)—at 12-1—won the $68,000 Open Handicap
Trot—from post position No. 12.
Working out a perfect second-over sojourn
from the back of the bus, Hemi Seelster was towed into the race by no less than
International Trot world champion Resolve (Ake Svanstedt). The latter, after
leaving for a seat, haD to rough it first-up against Obrigado (Mark MacDonald).
That one, caught three-deep early, led
through sensible-enough intervals of 28.1, :58.4, 1:28.4 and 1:57.3.
However Obrigado, with a
length-and-a-quarter lead entering the lane, was unable to close the
sale. Hemi Seelster went by, winning a blanket photo for the
mile-and-a-quarter in 2:26.2.
The wagering choice in each of his last
two starts, Hemi Seelster paid $26.80 this time around.
Homicide Hunter (Brian Sears), another dozen-to-one proposition, roared home
from third-over to miss a head. Obrigado saved the bottom the ticket, beaten a
neck with Maestro Blue Chip (Brent Holland) and Buen Camino (Jordan Stratton)
settling for the remainder (the five payees were separated by three-quarters of
a length).
Resolve, meanwhile, faded to eighth as the
4-5 favorite, the first time he crossed the line worse than fourth since
Svanstedt’s first start with him (May 15, ’15).
For sixth
choice Hemi Seelster, a 5-year-old Holiday Road gelding co-owned by Howard
Taylor & Abraham Basen and trained by Rich Banca, it was his sixth win in
17 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $226.50, with the triple returning $10,686.
Sunday’s
latest installment of the ‘New York, New York Double’ offered a winning
combination of 1-Karma Delight (Belmont’s 3rd race) and 3-Ultimate
Shopper (Yonkers’ 7th race) paid $12.40 for every correct $1 wager.
Total pool was $5,208.
The gimmick
wager now shifts to Saratoga as its thoroughbred venue when that meeting begins
Friday (July 21st). Note the Raceway’s next two Sunday post time are
12:30 PM (July 23rd) and 11:30 AM (July 30th),
respectively.
New York Sire
Stakes return her Tuesday night (July 18th), with the $159,500 Bruce
Hamilton Trot for 2-year-old fillies.
