By Ray Cotolo, for The Meadowlands
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ—
Driver Tim Tetrick commandeered his competition with the 4-year-old
Captaintreacherous mare Lyons Sentinel and delivered as the 4-5 favorite in the
$160,000 Artiscape Pace, lowering the track and world record in the process on
Saturday (July 3) at The Meadowlands.
Floating off the car in
a five-horse charge for the lead, Lyons Sentinel landed on the point past a :26
first quarter, pocketing Rocknificent with JK First Lady settling into third
and Gia’s Surreal fourth. The Jim King Jr. trainee rolled to the half in :54.3
and readied for first-over pressure as Gia’s Surreal edged off the pegs from
fourth.
But once Lyons Sentinel
clipped three-quarters in 1:21.4, she scooted away from her competition. She
strolled through the stretch to win by 1 1/2 lengths while stopping the clock
in 1:48, eclipsing the track and world record of 1:48.1 originally set by My
Little Dragon in 2007. Gia’s Surreal finished second and JK First Lady took
third.
Lyons Sentinel, a
winner of 14 races from 35 starts and $1,351,186 for owner Threelyonsracing,
entered the Artiscape off back-to-back defeats against the breakout mare Racine
Bell -- their most recent encounter coincidentally a record-equaling mile of
1:48.1 in the $50,000 Kissin In The Sand final. Joann Looney-King, wife to
trainer Jim King, Jr., said in the winner’s circle following the race that her
mare is ready for a rematch.
“Oh we’ll take her on;
we’ll beat her,” Looney-King said. “There’s no doubt. She’s a good horse; we’ll
beat her.”
Aside from their
brewing rivalry with Racine Bell, Looney-King said their mare is game for her
division’s stakes engagements through the remainder of the season.
“We’re going to get to
them all," she said. "As long as she stays healthy and sound, we’ll
be there.”
Lyons Sentinel returned
$3.80 to win.
With over $2 million to
his credit and a world record on his card, This Is The Plan had only one win
from 16 starts at The Meadowlands. But thanks to a patient Yannick Gingras
steer landing him in a prime striking spot, the 6-year-old Somebeachsomewhere
gelding nabbed his second ‘Big M’ victory in the $113,000 first division of the
Roll With Joe.
Gingras floated the
speedy Ron Burke trainee to race sixth past a :25.4 first quarter set by Workin
Ona Mystery before Angers Bayama vacated the cones from third to seize command.
Once on the point, Angers Bayama cruised past a :53.2 half as Captain Barbossa,
the slight 8-5 choice over This Is The Plan, tipped first over for the far-turn
drive.
Captain Barbossa crept
closer to Angers Bayama approaching three-quarters in 1:22. Gingras meanwhile
started to tip This Is The Plan to the center of the course and hit another
gear with open road, downing Angers Bayama and a resurgent Workin Ona Mystery
as that pair finished in a dead heat for second a head back in a 1:48.2 mile.
“Usually he’s good out
of a two hole, but I really couldn’t see looking at a program a nice two hole
or somebody I really wanted to sit behind in that spot,” Gingras said after the
race. “So I figured I could maybe follow Dex [Dunn and Captain Barbossa]. We
got lucky and it worked out tonight.”
The victory – No. 17
from 79 starts – bolstered This Is The Plan’s bankroll to $2,272,375 for owners
Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, J&T Silva-Purnel & Libby and
Lawrence Karr. He paid $5.40 to win.
Captain Kirk
capitalized off a quick pace set by stubborn speedsters and catapulted past the
field to take the $111,500 second division of the Roll With Joe.
Stars Align A sprinted
for the lead to a :26 opening quarter with Beaumond Hanover protecting position
for the pocket and 4-5 favorite Backstreet Shadow landing in third. He settled
at the pylons briefly before launching a blitz after the lead, but Stars Align
A kept him parked to a :52.4 half in front of a strung-out field.
The tempo slowed and
the field reeled in the tiring leaders to three-quarters in 1:20.2, with
Warrawee Vital the first to pounce for the lead. Beaumond Hanover then shot
through a seam at the pylons to take the top all while driver Scott Zeron sent
Captain Kirk to the center of the track and blasted off, swooping to the front
in the final strides to win by a length in 1:47.4. Warrawee Vital held third.
“He has a really good
burst for home consistently, so I was just hoping I could get close enough at
the three-quarter pole and turned out we did,” Zeron said after the race. “He’s
only had a few starts from a long layoff, and the Luthers prepped him back. He
was really strong last week finishing, and that’s all I wanted from that win.”
A 4-year-old stallion
by Captaintreacherous purchased earlier in the year by trainer Todd Luther’s
Black Magic Racing LLC, Captain Kirk collected his sixth victory from 28 starts
and pushed his earnings to $335,220. He paid $16.80 to win.
A LITTLE MORE: Gingras led the driver colony taking two of the five stakes events on the program (both for trainer Ron Burke) and finished the night with three winners overall. … Brett Pelling led the trainers with three winner’s circle visits. … The 20-cent Pick-5, which took in $84,529 of action, paid $4,788 after the sequence started with 12-1 and 14-1 shots in races one and two. … All-source wagering totaled $3,067,971, marking the 26th time during 2021 that Saturday wagering topped the $3-million mark from 27 programs. … Racing resumes Friday at 6:20 p.m.
