YONKERS, NY,
Saturday, April 21, 2018—Foiled Again has company.
Favored Keystone
Velocity (Dan Dube, $7) successfully defended his title Saturday night (Apr. 21st),
winning Yonkers Raceway $527,000 of the George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing
Series .
The 31st
Levy, a Free-For-All event honoring the memory of the harness-racing visionary
and Hall of Fame founder of Roosevelt Raceway, wrapped its annual six-week
sojourn on a brisk, (theoretically) spring evening.
At the outset, it
was pole-sitting Western Fame (Mark MacDonald) seating everyone, including
next-door neighbor Dr. J Hanover (Brett Miller). However, Keystone Velocity
wasn’t happy with that arrangement. Away third from post position No, 3, he
moved to the lead right at a :26.4 opening quarter-mile.
He then rated a
:29.3 next subsection (:56.2 half), which would serve him well.
Somewhere in L A (Jason Bartlett) was the first to move, taking out of fifth
before the intermission. Mach it So (Dave Miller) and Bit of a Legend N (Jordan
Stratton) found themselves second- and third-over, respectively.
It was Keystone Velocity maintained the lead in and out of a 1:23.4
three-quarters, his job made easier when Western Fame backed up in the pocket
and right into the lap of Dr. J Hanover.
The lead was a length-and-a-quarter entering the lane, and Keystone Velocity
wasn’t seriously threatened. Somewhere in L A hung in there, Mach it So dove
inside and Bit of a Legend N rallied late, though too late. The final margin
for Keystone Velocity was a length in a season’s-best 1:52.
Bit of a Legend N
(now a double-millionaire) did get into second, with Somewhere in L A third.
Mach it So and a compromised Dr. J Hanover settled for the remainder, while
Evenin’ of Pleasure (Joe Bongiorno), Western Fame and Rockin’ Ron (Yannick
Gingras) rounded out the order.
So, Keystone Velocity, the ‘old man‘ of the octet who needed a win in last
week’s final preliminary leg just to make the final, joined Foiled Again
(2009-10) as back-to-back Levy champions.
For Keystone
Velocity, a 10-year-old son of Western Hanover co-owners (as Allard Racing)
by (trainer) Allard, Kapildeo Singh, Earl Hill Jr. and VIP Internet Stables, it
was his second win in six seasonal/series starts. The exacta paid $39, the
triple returned $224.50 and the superfecta paid $1,161.
The $266,000
winner’s share raised Keystone Velocity’s career earnings to $1,644,413.
“He’s tough
horse,“ Dube said. “I think he’s better when he’s racing from behind, but he
drew well and we were able to get a breather, it was good.”
“He doesn’t
know he’s 10,” Allard said. “There are just so many people who work with him
that deserve the credit. Me? I was more nervous last season, so I’m able to
enjoy this one.”
After some
R&R, Keystone Velocity ‘is staked to pretty much everything,” Allard said.
Members of
the Levy family, including George Morton Levy’s son, Robert, and daughter,
CeCe, made the winner’s circle presentation.
