BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY,
Friday, June 22, 2018—it was nary more than a qualifier for money for odds-on
Lispatty (George Brennan, $3.40), winning Yonkers Raceway’s featured
$44,000 Filly and Mare Open Handicap Pace.
The lone leaver
from assigned post position No. 4, Lispatty worked around pole-sitting Medusa
(Brian Sears). She then effectively ended the suspense (:28, :57.2) at the
intermission. Delightful Dragon (Brent Holland) tried it first-up from fifth,
but a :27.1 third quarter (1:24.3) made sure the outer tier did not figure.
Lispatty owned a
length-and-three-quarter lead in and out of the final turn, then easily held
her pocketed pursuer at bay. She defeat Medusa by a length-and-a-half in 1:52.
The ground-saving
trio of Lovineveryminute (Mark MacDonald), Freakonomics (Eric Goodell) and Mach
it a Par (Jason Bartlett) settled for the remainder.
For Lispatty, a
5-year-old daughter of McArdle owned by Gilbert Garcia-Owen and trained by
Gilberto Garcia-Herrera, it was her fifth win (third consecutive) in 17
seasonal starts. The exacta paid $12.60, the triple returned $55 and the
superfecta paid $267.
Saturday night’s
(June 23rd) dozen-race program features the return of 2016’s
Trotting Triple Crown champ, Marion Marauder. Second in last fall’s
million-dollar Yonkers International Trot, Marion Marauder was banished behind
the eight-ball in the $44,000, seventh-race co-featured Open Handicap Trot.
