BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY,
Saturday, May 11, 2019—Yonkers Raceway’s Saturday night (May 11th)
soiree saw a pair of odds-on entities take advantage of generous getaways in
the $44,000 co-features, plus a visit from the Reynolds Memorial crowd.
The weekly
adult-table pace had Levy Series standout Ideal Jimmy (Brent Holland, $3.60)
drill his rivals. From post position No. 3 (inside one notch after the
scheduled pole-sitter came up ill), he hung Pacing Major N (Jordan Stratton),
then toyed with ‘em (:26.4, :54.4;
1:23, life-best 1:51.1). The final margin was an unasked 4¾
lengths.
Major Crocker A
(Dan Dube), the new polester, just held off a stubborn Pacing Major N for
second, with Somewhere in L A (Jason Bartlett) and JJ Flynn (Austin Siegelman)
closing for the minors.
For Ideal Jimmy, a
6-year-old homebred Western Ideal gelding owned by D R Van Witzenburg and
trained by Erv Miller, it was his seventh win in 16 seasonal starts. The exacta
paid $8.30, the triple (three wagering choices in order) returned $18.40 and
the superfecta paid $91.50.
The week’s marquee
trot had a methodical Will Take Charge (Siegelman, $3.10) turn in the fastest
local mile (1:54) of the season.
From post No. 3,
he eschewed an early move to the lead, then tracked down In Secret (George
Brennan) after that one’s subsections of :27.1, :56.3 and 1:25.
Will Take Charge
did just that early in the lane, drawing out to win by a couple of lengths. A
loosely-covered Top Flight Angel (catch-driver Dube) did grab second, with In Secret,
Swansea (Joe Bongiorno) and Sumatra (Stratton) picking off the remainder.
For Will Take
Charge, a 6-year-old Kadabra gelding co-owned by trainer Jeff Gillis and
Mac Nichol, it was his first win in five ’19 tries. The exacta (two wagering
choices) paid $10.40, the triple returned $40.60 and the superfecta paid $190.
Also
Saturday night, the $92,100 W.N. Reynolds Pace offered two divisions each for
the 3-year-old girls and boys.
A gingerly-handled
Queen of the Pride (Stratton, $2.30) was advertised in her $22,050 event,
winning by 4½ lengths in 1:54. The daughter of McArdle, owned by Frank Chick
and trained by Kevin Lare, is now 4-for-5 this season.
As Time Goes By
(catch-driver Stratton, $13) went by tiring odds-on fave Art Lecture (Brennan)
in a life-best 1:54.3, winning her $21,550 event. The Captaintreacherous miss
is trained Julie Miller for co-owners Willow Oak Ranch and Andy Miller Stable.
The colt and
gelding groupings, each worth $24,250, were won by…
--Wager on Me (by
Bettor’s Delight); co-owners George and Tina Dennis Racing,North State Street
Stable/trainer Joe Columbo/driver Bartlett; 1:54.2/$6.90;
--American Admiral
(by American Ideal); co-owners William and James Fleming/trainer Andrew
Harris/driver Jim Marohn Jr.; 1:54.3/$11.20.
Seventy-cents-on-the-dollar faves in each
colts/gelding event—World on Edge (Brennan) and Mo Mas Amor (Bartlett)—each
threw in steps and were last and did not finish, respectively
