BY FRANK
DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY, Friday, September 6, 2013--Yonkers Raceway's Friday night $37,000
co-featured Open
Handicaps--Pace
for the fairer sex and Trot for anyone of distinction--were won by people's
choices Royal Cee Cee N (Brian Sears, $4.10) and three-peating (sorry, Pat
Riley) Tall Cotton (George Brennan, $5.70).
Royal Cee Cee, from post position No. 7, worked past Rock N Load (Dan Dube),
making the lead right at a :27.3 first two furlongs. From there, nary an issue
(:56.4 half, 1:25.2 three-quarters). She kept a first-up Mibestkeptsecret (Mark
MacDonald) at bay, and a length-and-three-quarters turning for home was a
length-and-a-quarter at the (1:53.1) wire.
Second went to Rock N Load, with I Know Nothing (Eric Goodell) and
Mibestkeptsecret and Ramalama (Brennan) coming away with the remainder.
For
Royal Cee Cee N, a 7-year-old Down Under daughter of Christian Cullen owned and
trained by Mark Harder, it was her sixth win in 19 seasonal starts. The exacta
paid $30.80, the triple returned $263.50 and the superfecta paid $953.
The featured trot saw tepid 9-5 choice Tall Cotton--from his ordered
eight-hole--march to the lead around pole-assignee Prayer Session (Brent
Holland). Taking over after a :27.2 opening quarter he then rated a :56.1 half.
Then, second-choice Little Brown Fox (Sears)--who had taken a seat fourth--made
a second move.
He tried to engaged the leader before the 1:25.3 three-quarters, but never came
close. Tall Cotton opened
2½
lengths entering the lane, before winning by that same margin in 1:55.3. Likeabatoutahell
(Goodell) skimmed the cones, closing from last to grab second, with Somebody AS
(catch-driver Dube), Prayer Session and Bastille (Jim Pantaleano) rounding out
the payees.
For Tall Cotton, a 7-year-old Revenue S gelding co-owned (as Burke Racing) by
Burke, Howard Taylor, Weaver Brusecemi and Edwin Gold, he's now 7-for-18 this
season (those three consecutive wins in a four-week period). The exacta paid
$34.40, with triple returning $292.
The Raceway's five-night-per-week live schedule continues, with first post
every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:10 PM. Evening
simulcasting accompanies all live programs, with afternoon simulcasting
available around the NYRA schedule (note that Belmont Park opens Saturday).
