by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway
HAMBURG, N.Y. --- Melodies Major has been nothing but
spectacular thus far in his brief career and he continued to sparkle on
Wednesday night (July 18) at Buffalo Raceway by toppling the 2-year-old pacing
colt record with a 1:54.2 victory over Jack Nation in the New York Sire Stakes
(NYSS) for the freshman pacers.
Cruising to an easy 3-3/4 length win in his $53,500
division, Melodies Major ($2.10) crushed the old mark of 1:55.4 set in 2013 by
He's Watching.
In the other NYSS leg, Bicorne Hanover went gate-to-wire in
1:56.3 and held off Jojo's Place by three-quarters of a length.
But is was Melodies Major (Art Major-Hilarious) who stole
the show. Driver Tyler Buter said after the race, "I drove him with two
fingers. He's such a pleasure to drive. When I asked him to go, he just went
faster."
Getting splits of :28.2, :57.1 and 1:26.0, Melodies Major
never was asked for more in the lane as Buter tucked away the whip and enjoyed
the view of the Buffalo Raceway home stretch. Despite being in cruise control,
he still put up a :28.2 last panel. Jack Nation (Jim Morrill Jr.) took second
while Covered Bridge (Mike Simons) nailed the show position.
Melodies Major is a perfect 3-for-3 in his brief career and
has two track records now with the first coming at Monticello on July 4 with a
1:54.3 clocking. Owned by Martin Scharf and trained by Mark Ford, Melodies
Major has put $80,000 in the bank already in 2018.
Bicorne Hanover (Kevin Cummings) took advantage of the
inside draw and wired the field in a solid 1:56.3.
Leaving from the rail, Bicorne Hanover established
fractions of :28.3, :58.2 and 1:28.0. Jojo's Place (Jason Bartlett) made a
valiant charge at the end but came up three quarters of a length short at the
line. Bean (Scott Coulter) took third place.
Co-owned by the Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi,
James Martin and William Switala, Bicorne Hanover (Art Major-Boldnbrash
Hanover) is trained by Ron Burke. It was the first victory in three starts this
season for Bicorne Hanover, now a winner of $44,110 in 2018.
Murrow Boy (Drew Monti) was the fastest in the $15,000
Excelsior A Series races with a 1:55.4 time, returning a healthy $17.00 to his
backers. Mark Witha K ($6.20) took the other leg with a 1:59.0 victory for
Morrill Jr.
Morrill Jr., who completed the evening with a driving
triple, captured the $6,400 Excelsior B event with a 1:58.4 win aboard Baby
Maker Hanover ($5.10)
Cummings had a double in the bike while trainer Russell
Bratt notched a pair of victories.
Racing will continue on Friday night at 5 p.m. with a nine
race program scheduled and the 2018 season will come to a close on Saturday
evening at 6 p.m. with a 10-race program set.
For more information including the latest news, upcoming
promotions, simulcast schedule, race replays, results and entries, go to www.buffaloraceway.com
