BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY,
Tuesday, April 24, 2018—Pole-sitting Bluebird Jesse (George Brennan, $12.20)
went the distance, winning Tuesday night’s (Apr. 24th) $85,000 final
of the Bonus Trotting Series.
The event,
co-sponsored by Yonkers Raceway and the Standardbred Owners Association of the
New York, offered three preliminary legs leading to the final.
The field was
reduced to seven after an injury defection, with three of those coupled due to
the intersection of common trainer and cross-ownership.
At the outset,
Bluebird Jessie was about to stuff Tyson (Yannick Gingras) in behind when the
latter broke. That misdeed may have been the reason Optimist Blue Chip (Andy
Miller) jumped it off. Tyson would eventually get back trotting, only to
‘dance’ again.
Meanwhile, Seasoned
Saint (Jim Marohn Jr.), starting right next door to the leader, wound up
pocketed as part of a the 15-cents-on-the-dollar favored troika. Bluebird Jesse
was hard-used early (:27.4 opening quarter-mile), before rating a :58.1
intermission.
Lone lass Romancing
Rachel (Mark MacDonald), another part of the entry, was third. However, the
battle lines were drawn between the leader and his pursuer. Seasoned Saint, the
only entrant to sweep all three prelims, pulled against Bluebird Jesse well
before the 1:26.4 three-quarters.
The two were
just about in tandem from the final turn to the wire, but Bluebird Jesse was
both stubborn and swift. He defeated Seasoned Saint by a head in a
life-best-matching 1:54.4. Romancing Rachel was another five lengths back in
third, with Aces and Eights (Ray Schnittker) and Icanflylikeanangel (Jeff
Gregory) settling for the minors.
For second choice
Bluebird Jesse, a 4-year-old Jailhouse Jesse gelding trained by Scott
DiDomenico for co-owners Brian Carsey, John McGill and Adam Friedland, it was
his third win in six seasonal starts. The exacta paid $21.20, with triple
wagering cancelled due to the limited number of wagering entrants.
The ‘bonus’
portion of the series was a $10,000 SOA-paid premium to the winner, all of
whose humans were association members prior to the first draw of the series
A $35,000 series
consolation was won by Chapter Too (Bartlett, $4.30) in 1:55.1.
