John Horne for Vernon Downs
Vernon
Downs played host to two divisions of the New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) for
sophomore trotting colts and geldings on Friday afternoon (June 10).
Branded
By Lindy (Yannick Gingras) cruises to easy win in the $57,000 first division.
Middleman
(Brian Sears) went straight to the front and led to the first quarter in
:29.0. Branded By Lindy ($2.10) made his
move as they headed for the backstretch going first-over from third. He cleared the lead just before hitting the
first half in :58.4. He was first to
three-quarters in 1:26.4.
As
they made the turn home Branded By Lindy just breezed down the stretch and won
easily in 1:54.2. Castle House (Tim
Tetrick) came up late to finish second.
Middleman held on for third.
Branded By Lindy is a 3-year-old colt by Chapter
Seven. He is owned
by Lindy Farms Of Connecticut and trained
by Domenico Cecere. The
colt is
on top of Ken Warkentin’s road to the Hambletonian list. He
wins his
first race as a sophomore colt and now has nine career
victories.
Slay (Tim Tetrick) charges late to capture the
$57,000 second division.
Slay ($9.00) took the lead and led the quarter in
:28.0. The big
favorite Cool Papa Bell (Brian
Sears) took over just before hitting the
half
first in :56.3. Cool Papa Bell cruised to Three-quarters in 1:24.1.
As they headed for home Cool Papa Bell was the one to
beat. When
they reached mid-stretch Slay popped the
pocket and eased on by to
win in a
lifetime best of 1:52.2. Cool Papa Bell had to settle for
second.
Velvet Style (Yannick Gingras) finished third.
Slay is a 3-year-old colt by Chapter Seven. He is owned by Crawford
Farms Racing and James Crawford IV while
trained by Tony Alagna. It
was his
first win of the season. He now has three career wins.
Gingras and Cecere combined for three wins on the
card. They got
their other wins with Sonny’s Moni ($2.60),
and Raised By Lindy
($2.20).
Live racing returns to Vernon Downs on
Saturday (June 11) with a 12-race card and a post time of 6:05 p.m.
For more information, go to www.vernondowns.com.
