When the judges drew the Thursday, August 1st
card which featured nine divisions of 2-year-old colt and gelding
pacers in the New York Sires Stakes and the Excelsior Series it was
anticipated to be the best racing program thus far this season at Monticello
Raceway.
Unfortunately the steady falling rains that afternoon damped
the highly anticipated expectations and the racetrack too, still with the races
were exciting and well contested and racing fans, both on and off track, poured
over $878,000 through the betting machines.
Of the four divisions of the $130,000 NYSS Brittany
Farms, Joe Sbrocco and John Fodera’s, Bakersfield , turned in the fastest mile
in Sires Stakes competition when Yannick Gingras reined the son of American
Ideal-Ride the Skies to a an easy 1:56.3 three-length triumph while
defeating I’m All Heart and driver Ray Schnittker over the muddy
racetrack.
Equally impressive was Yannick Gingras’ 1:57.3 victory with
Sheppard Pace winner, Forty Five Red, while the other NYSS winners were Western
Conquest in 1:58 for Marcus Miller and Design Guru in 1:57.3 for hometown hero and
Monticello High School graduate, George Brennan.
Forty Five Red, a son of If I Can Dream-Sakura
Hanover, was sent off at odds of 7-10 from post two and won like a 1-20
shot when he turned back Murder He Wrote and Tim Tetrick by 10 lengths
although Tetrick’s colt made a break on the first turn and was 21 lengths off
at the quarter.
Yannick Grisgras couldn’t disguise his smile in the winner’s
circle and was full of accolades about Forty Five Red.: “He’s a beautiful
colt and he(‘s) got the build and the manners to be a real good horse. He’s a
beautiful colt.”
Owned by Burke Racing Stable and Our Horse Sense Stables and
trained by Ron Burke ,Forty Five Red raised his bankroll to $101,221 on
the strength of three wins and a second in four lifetime starts.
Bakersfield’s victory not only impressed the
colt’s driver but also the colt’s trainer, Jimmy Takter, who was on hand to
view his pupil’s performance, and was joined for the blanket
presentation by Myron Bell of Brittany Farms.
When asked about Bakersfield, Takter smiled and said with
his Swedish accent: “He could be a real serious player,” which brought a smile
to Bell’s face.
Bell then went on to tell a Bakersfield story.
“We (Brittany Farms) were divesting some of our
broodmare stock and we sold Ride The Skies, a daughter of Four Starz
Shark, at the mixed sale at Harrisburg (PA) Mixed Sales a couple of years ago
and an Amish man bought her and the colt she had in her belly for $1500.
That colt turned out to be Bakersfield and when he was sent
to auction we paid $75,000 for him. Go figure!”
In yet another $32,000 NYSS split George Brennan and Design
Guru stalked the pace-setter Thereisapaceforus (another Takter-trained
colt) the entire mile and then slipped up the passing lane to out-foot the
leader to the wire to score a head victory for the colt’s owner Jeffrey Snider.
Brennan was cheered by many of his former high school
classmates when he made a stop in the winners circle but did find time to
say some good things about the son of Artiscape-Lookinforagirlikeu.
“He’s green and we got a good trip but he paced
a good last quarter (:28.2 over the muddy racetrack).”
Trained by Casie Coleman it was Design Guru’s maiden victory
in five lifetime starts.
A fourth division saw Marcus Miller use the passing lane
with Western Conquest to upset Stay Up Late and George Brennan in a 1:58
clocking with a :28.2 final stanza.
“This was my first drive here and I was in the right place
at the right time.Maybe it was beginners luck,” Miller said smiling.
Owned by Tanah Merah Farms and trained by Marcus’s
dad, Erv Miller, and it was the American Ideal-Aries Conquest
colt’s third win in four career outings.
Of the five $12,700 Excelsior Series races the Arnold
Marks-trained Big Boy Dreams turned in the fastest mile of the afternoon when
Jimmy Morrill, Jr. went along for a 1:56.1 ride.
“He run(sic) off with me,” Morrill said about the 12-length
triumph referring to the early fractions of :27.4, :55.4 and 1:25.4. “He
acts like a good one and they’ll probably start him in the Sires Stakes next
time.”
Big Boy Dreams is owned by Dominick Rosato.
Other Excelsior Series winners included Hands
Off Frank( 1:58) for Ray Schnittker; Celtic Art (1:59.2) for Tim Tertick;
Memorial Day J (1:59.4) again with Tetrick at the lines; and Cabbie’s
Delight in 2:00.1 for Jimmy Morrill, Jr.
