BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY,
Friday, May 4, 2018—First, she won the open draw. Then, she closed matters
early.
Odds-on favorite
Mach it a Par (Jason Bartlett, $2.60) toyed with her six foes Friday night (May
4th), easily winning Yonkers Raceway’s $40,000 Filly and Mare Open
Pace.
Away second, Mach
it a Par went up and over Bettorhaveanother (Joe Bongiorno) before a 28-second
opening quarter-mile. A qualifier-esque :57.4 intermission effectively ended
what minimal suspense actually remained.
Motu Moonbeam N
(Brent Holland) was the first to move—from seventh—and subsequently broke after
Call Me Queen Be (Eric Goodell) appeared to come out underneath her.
Meanwhile, Mach it
a Par maintained her open lead in and out of a 1:26.1 three-quarters, widening
to 3½ lengths off the final turn. She finished if off by 2½ lengths in 1:54.2.
Culinary Delight
(Larry Stalbaum) did get into second, with Bettorhaveanother, Call Me Queen Be
and Delightful Dragon coming away with the minors.
For Mach it a Par,
an 8-year-old daughter of Mach Three co-owned by D’Elegance Stable IX, Carmen
Iannacone, T L P & Gandolfo Stables and trained by Richard Banca, it was
her fourth win in 13 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $8.40, with the triple
returning $28.60.
Derby Day fun
begins early Saturday (May 5th), with mutuel windows opening at 10
AM in advance of the 144th Kentucky Derby. First post at
Churchill Downs is 10:30 AM, and Yonkers getting the spirit with the obligatory
hat contests, mint juleps and an array of food and drink specials.
Of course, since a
wager or two is made, windows are open both inside and outside, with Derby post
time set for about 6:46 PM.
