by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway
HAMBURG, N.Y. --- Since arriving at Buffalo Raceway from
Dover Downs in early February, Manceiver has been successfully climbing up the
class ladder.
On Saturday night (March 2), Manceiver (Shawn Gray) reached
the top rung of the ladder and hit it impressively by burying the field in the
$11,000 Class AA Open Handicap Pace in 1:56.3 over the good track. He easily
topped Mr Euroman N (Billy Davis Jr.) by a throttled down 3-1/4 lengths while
Golden Gesture (Drew Monti) took third.
Southwind Torque (Billy Davis Jr.) and Im So Handsome (David
McNeight III) each used perfect pocket trips to register victories in the
co-featured $9,500 Class A pacing events.
Manceiver ($4.50) wasted little time in showing who was the
boss in the top notch eight-horse field. Zooming off the gate, Manceiver
cruised to fractions of :28.3, :57.2 and 1:27.0.
Enjoying a widening two length advantage at the top of the
lane, Manceiver started to coast and had the rest of the field waving the white
flag in surrender.
Manceiver (Sportswriter-Swift N Shout) is a 5-year-old
gelding who is owned by Mike Torcello and conditioned by Gerry Sarama. It was
his fourth victory in seven appearances, moving his winnings to $19,890 and
$114,527 lifetime.
In the first sub-featured race, Southwind Torque ($3.30)
popped the two hole at the top of the stretch and managed to hold off Harry Hoo
N by three-quarter lengths in 1:59.1.
Bugatti (McNeight III) set the splits of :29.0, :59.4 and
1:30.0 with Southwind Torque enjoying the garden spot trip. After sneaking past
Bugatti, Southwind Torque had to hang on late as Harry Hoo N (Shawn McDonough)
made a strong bid in the passing lane but came up three-quarter lengths short.
Bugatti ended up in third.
Co-owned by the Vogel & Wags Nags Stable and Jack Rice,
Southwind Torque (Somebeachsomewhere-Tsunami Hanover) is a 7-year-old gelding
who is trained by Maria Rice. The win, his third in seven starts, upped his
seasonal earnings to $14,100 and $202,758 lifetime.
In the other contest, Im So Handsome relinquished the lead
to Whosurpapa (Gray) before the opening panel but had the last laugh in the
end.
With Whosupapa setting the pace with :29.2, :59.3 and
1:29.3, Im So Handsome ($7.50) powered on by in mid stretch to take the half
length decision. Santana Beach (Davis Jr.) took the show position.
Owned by Torcello and trained by Sarama, it was the second
score in five tries this year for Im So Handsome (Hot Pans-Cheyenne Rose). The
victory moved his 2019 bankroll to $14,640 and $206,000 in his career..
Woodmere Fullalife (Ray Fisher Jr.) sprung a huge upset in
the fourth race with a $127.50 victory. With 35-to-1 shot Spring Terror
(McNeight III) rolling into second, it produced a whopping $1,330 exacta.
Gray finished the evening with a five-bagger, Denny Bucceri
posted three wins while Davis Jr. and Fisher Jr. doubled. Clouser Jr. had a
training triple with Sarama and Jeff Amann collecting a pair of wins.
Racing will continue on Wednesday evening at 5 p.m. with an
11-race card scheduled. There will be a $2,124 carryover in the Pick-5 which
starts in the second race.
For more information including the latest news, race
replays, results, entries, upcoming promotions and simulcast schedule, go to www.buffaloraceway.com
