BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY,
Saturday, March 16, 2019—Saturday night’s (March 16th) opening round
of Yonkers Raceway’s George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series offered a fair
amount of form and a fair amount of ‘huh?’ among the Free-For-Allers,
A half-dozen,
$50,000 groups were contested in succession.
Here’s the ‘wrap’
sheet…
First division—Say
this much for Dan Dube…he appreciates timing.
Approaching his
latest driving milestone for a while, Dube coordinated it just right, stylishly
winning Saturday night‘s (March 16th) opener of Yonkers Raceway’s
George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series.
His open-length
romp with favored Western Fame ($4.40) not only served as the 9,000th
win of his career, but threw down the Free-For-All series gauntlet as the
fastest local mile (1:51.1) of the season.
From post position
No. 4 Western Fame gave nothing else a shot through intervals of :27.1, :56.2 and 1:24.1. The two-length
lead off the final turn became 5¾ lengths at the wire, helped by his fast feet
and a scattering behind after a nasty break by Windsong Leo (George Brennan).
Somewhere in L A (Jason Bartlett) avoided the happenstance to
end up second, with Mach it So (Brent Holland), Lyons Steel (Mark MacDonald) and
Don Domingo N (Matt Kakaley) settling for the remainder.
For Western Fame, a 6-year-old son of Western Ideal co-owned
by Go Fast and B&I Stables, Stephen Klunowski & Gilbert Short and
trained by Rene Allard, it was his first win a pair of seasonal starts. The
exacta paid $17.80, the triple returned $110 and the superfecta paid $967.
The Quebec-born
Dube, turning 50 this June, was the main driver of Horses of the Year Gallo
Blue Chip (2000) and Rock N Roll Heaven (2010). His career purse earnings exceed
$119 million.
:”He (Western Fame) was ready for this mile,” Dube said. “I thought he’d race
well. I heard something behind me (field scattering), but I was in front by a
few lengths so I wasn’t worried about it.
“I’m obviously happy to get to this (9,000) number. When I came down from
Canada, I never thought I’d have the success I’ve had.”
Second division—Odds-on Anythingforlove A (Joe Bongiorno, $2.70)—from
post No. 3—who’d been doing his damage up front, sat pocketed to the returning
Rockin’ Ron (Kakaley). The latter led through intervals of :27.4, 57.2 and 1:25.1, with his stalker
pulling early.
Anythingforlove A finally dispatched the leader, then held
off Somebaddude (Andy McCarthy) by three-quarters of a length in 1:53.4.
Luciano A (Brennan) was third, with a tiring Rockin’ Ron and Pacing Major N
(Jordan Stratton) rounding out the payees.
For
Anythingforlove A, a 7-year-old Rock N Roll Heaven gelding owned by Wish Me
Luck Stables and trained by Jennifer Bongiorno, it was his fourth win in seven
seasonal starts. The exacta paid $11.80, the triple returned $45 and the
superfecta paid $228.
“I was happy to
sit behind Rockin’ Ron,” Joe Bongiorno said. “(Anythingforlove A) can’t be on
the lead every week against these horses, so if I could get him an easier trip,
I did.”
Third division—Pole-sitting
Ideal Jimmy (Brent Holland, $20) went the distance (:27.4, 57.2, 1:24.4; 1:52.4) while 3-10 favorite Beckham’s Z
Tam (Tim Tetrick) never seemed comfortable, winding up a non-factor fourth.
‘Beckham’ was away second, not wanting to take the lead while
losing pocket contact down the backside.
“Tim (Tetrick) said the horse just sort of fell asleep in the
pocket and he probably should have put him on the front and let him pace,”
trainer Bruce Saunders said. “He seemed fine, but we’re going to scope him
anyway.”
Mac’s Jackpot (Kakaley) closed for second, beaten a length at
38-1, with Micky Gee N (Scott Zeron), Beckham’s Z Tam and Sam’s a Champ A (Jim
Marohn Jr.) earning the minors.
For third choice
Ideal Jimmy, a 6-year-old homebred Western Ideal gelding owned by D R Van
Witzenberg and trained by Erv Miller, it was his fourth win in seven ’19 tries.
The exacta paid $373, the triple returned $2,388 and the superfecta paid $5,031.
Fourth division—“He’s the reason
I came here tonight.”
Such was the
pre-race assessment of driver McCarthy, who launched Rodeo Rock ($4.40) from
second-over to win handily.
From post No. 4,
Rodeo Rock watched 9-10 polester Duplicated N (Tetrick) take over from longshot
Rodeo Romeo (Bartlett), then lead through soft (and flat) intervals of :28 and :57 before a 1:24.4
three-quarters. Rodeo Rock worked from behind I’m Some Graduate (Kakaley), then
went wide after his target.
Duplicated N owned
a length-and-a-half lead in and out of the final turn, but Rodeo Rock picked
him off. The margin was three-quarters of a length in 1:52.4, with Rodeo Romeo,
JJ Flyin’ (Brennan) and I’m Some Graduate coming away with the smaller
envelopes.
For second choice
Rodeo Rock, a 6-year-old Rock N Roll Heaven gelding owned by Royal Wire
Products and trained by Robert Cleary, it was his second win in as many
seasonal efforts. The exacta paid $7.80, the triple returned $82.50 and the
superfecta paid $473.
Fifth division—Just-over-even-money
favorite I’marocnrollegend N (Kakaley) literally and figuratively hit The Wall
(Bongiorno, $41.60).
Winning the draw
and sitting a three-hole through fractions of :26.3; 56.3 and 1:24.2, The Wall waited for a first-up Always
at My Place (Brennan) to retreat before hanging a sharp right turn for
clearance.
The Wall won a three-horse scrum by a head in a season’s-best
1:53, with I’marocnrollegend N second and a pocketed Bettor’s Fire N (Ron
Cushing) third. Endeavor (Tetrick) and Rockathon (Stratton) also made coinage.
For rank outsider
(sixth choice) The Wall, a 5-year-old Somebeachsomewhere gelding owned by J L
Benson Stables and trained by Nick Surick, he’s now 2-for-8 this season. The
exacta paid $92.50, the triple returned $325.50 and the superfecta paid $2,230.
“They were getting
out of there quickly, so I had no choice but to be third,” Bongiorno said. I
wasn’t going to come first-up and I was fortunate when (Always at My Place)
tired to have room. This horse had had some bad draws and been in some bad
spots, so it was good to save ground for once.”
Sixth division—A gritty (though
not Philadelphia Flyer Gritty) first-up effort by favored More the Better N
(Zeron, $4.70).
After pole-sitting
Mar Nien A (Greg Merton) rebuffed quarter-move advances of Gokudo Hanover
(Brennan), the former led through early substations of :27.1 and :56.4.
From post No. 3, More the Better N hooked Mar Nien A through
a :27.4 third quarter (1:24.3), eventually putting that one away early in the
lane. More the Better N held off a crisply-rallying Mach Doro A (Cushing) by a
neck in 1:53.2. Gokudo Hanover, Bellow’s Binge (Bartlett) and Ballerat
Boomerang (Tetrick) fell into line for the remainder, while Mar Nien A
backpedaled to last among the octet.
For More the
Better N, a 6-year-old Down Under son of Bettor’s Delight owned by Robert
Cooper Stables and trained by Ross Croghan, it was his first win in a trio of
’19 tries. The exacta paid $45.40, the triple returned $257.50 and the
superfecta paid $862.
Saturday night’s
$44,000 Open Handicap Trot was won by a down-the-road Eye Ofa Tiger AS
(Bartlett, $7.60) in 1:56.
