BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY,
Sunday, November 26, 2017—Last season’s New York Sire Stakes champ (and Yonkers
Trot runner-up) Smalltownthrowdown (Yannick Gingras, $6.40) maintained this
season’s form spree Sunday afternoon (Nov. 26th), winning Yonkers
Raceway’s $40,000 Open Handicap Trot.
With just a happy
half-dozen, the weekly trotting feature went at the flat mile, after the first
seven ‘French’ trots.
Smalltownthrowdown,
having won his last six races out of town, made short work of his inside five
rivals in his local return.
As the only
leaver, he toured the terrain (:27.3, :59, 1:28, 1:56.4), taking no pressure
whatsoever.
Smalltownthrowdown
lead by a length-and-a-quarter in and out of the final turn, with the final
margin a length.
Pole-assigned Buen Camino (Brian Sears) chased from the
pocket and saved second over Melady’s Monet (Jason Bartlett). ‘Melady,’ as the
2-5 favorite, was content to sit third until the three-quarters, when he left
the cones but never seriously threatened.
Wings of
Royalty (Steve Smith) crossed the line fourth, but was set down to fifth
(behind DW’s NY Yank [George Brennan]) for picking off a pylon early in the
lane. Home’n Dray (Matt Kakaley) brought up the rear.
For second
choice ‘Smalltown,’ a 4-year-old Cash Hall gelding co-owned (as Allard Racing)
by (trainer) Rene Allard, Yves Sarazin, VIP Internet Stable and Bruce Soulsby,
it was his eighth win in 14 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $50, the triple
returned $100 and the superfeata paid $508.
If you were a
shrewd, late-morning handicapper, you made some holiday coin and then some.
Time Outa Jail (Bartlett, $67) and Dressed to Impress (Gingras, $29.80) combined
for a $1,162 early double, while the winners led respective fat exotics…$600
exacta/$2,210 triple (first race) & $633 exacta/$6,495 triple (second
race).
This ‘New
York, New York Double’ saw a winning combination of 4-Archival (Aqueduct’s 3rd
race) and 5-I C Caviar (Yonkers’ 6th race) returned
$8.20 for every correct $1 wager. Total pool was $3,073.
