BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY, Monday, March 26, 2018—She
beat the gate, then beat her foes, both with the greatest of ease.
Caviart Cherie (Jordan Stratton, $20.20)
offered an eight-hole tour de force Monday night (March 26th),
winning Yonkers Raceway’s $62,000 final of the Petticoat Pacing Series.
There wasn’t much to the finale, which
wrapped a four-week series for 3- and 4-year-old lasses who are/were
non-winners of four races and/or $40,000 through last Dec. 1st. All
finalists were 4-year-olds.
Caviart Cherie, one of four ladies who had
won twice in the prelims, quickly negated the ill-effects of an open-draw
impost.
Leaving with the speed of a runner,
Caviart Cherie hurdled the field early in the first turn. While doing so, she
looped 4-5 favorite Diamondtoothgertie (George Brennan), that one eventually
finding a seat fourth.
Caviart Cherie threw it down, as a :26.4 opening quarter-mile and :55.2
intermission. Chasing from a loose pocket was Jk Jazzitup (Mark MacDonald),
with Gotthisone Hanover (Yannick Gingras) away third.
Diamondtoothegertie
moved from fourth, but never came within shouting distance of Caviart Cherie.
After a 1:23.3 three-quarters, the lead was three lengths entering the lane.
The final
margin was a length-and-a-half in a season’s-best 1:54. Second went to Jk
Jazzitup, with Diamondtoothgertie salvaging the bottom of the ticket. Dali
Delight (Dan Dube), coupled with Jk Jazzitup, and Absolutely Best (Jason
Bartlett) settled for the minors.
D G’s Elsa
(Eric Goodell), Gotthisone Hanover and Lusty Delight (Greg Merton) completed
the order.
For third
choice Caviart Cherie, a 4-year-old daughter of Well Said owed by Joe P Racing
and trained by Matias Ruiz, it was her seventh win (with three seconds) in 11
seasonal starts. The exacta $69, with the triple returning $129.
“She overcame
the eight-hole,” was Stratton’s succinct post-mortem.
“A shout-out
to Matt Kakaley, who drove her very well,” Scott Pennacchio, son of Joe P
Racing principal Joseph Pennacchio, said. “He gets a lot of the credit, and we
hope he’s back soon.”
A $30,000 series consolation was won by
favored Pull the Shade (Scott Zeron, $5.70) in 1:55.3, matching her week-old,
life-best effort.
Tuesday night’s (March 27th),
it’s the Raceway’s annual Teddy Roosevelt testimonial, the Sagamore Hill
concludes with a final worth $63,400.
