by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway
HAMBURG, N.Y. --- American Fling set the Buffalo Raceway track record for the 2-year-old gelding pacers on Wednesday afternoon (July 13) by winning the $104,400 New York Sire Stakes for the freshmen in 1:55.1 over the fast track. He beat Its A Me Mario again for the third consecutive race, this time by a length.
The old mark for the geldings was 1:56.1 established on June 30, 2021 by Pickup Man Hanover.
It appeared that American Fling ($2.80) was going to cut the early fractions but Bandito Joe (Matt Kakaley) bolted to the top and put up splits of :28.2, :57.0 and 1:26.3. Those proved to be a little ambitious in the long run as American Fling (Jim Morrill Jr.) tipped out from the pocket and brought along Its A Me Mario (Lauren Tritton) heading into the stretch.
Down the lane, American Fling wasn't going to be denied. A :28.2 final quarter mile erased any hopes of Its A Me Mario who had to settle for another second place finish in the Sire Stakes competition. Bandito Joe hung on for the third place check.
Co-owned by Randall Bendis, Reed Broadway and Pollack Racing LLC, American Fling (American Ideal-Feeling You) is now a perfect 3-for-3 in the NYSS races. He is conditioned by Edward Hart and the victory zoomed American Fling's bankroll to $104,575 on the season.
Human Cocktail ($4.20) put up steady fractions then used a :28.3 last panel to seal the 1-3/4 length decision over Hunting Zone in the $15,000 Excelsior A race. Driven by Morrill Jr. and trained by Gareth Dowse, Human Cocktail (Huntsville-Lotsa Matzah) is owned by Stephen Demeter.
Wasn't Me (Kyle Cummings) made it a perfect 3-for-3 in the $6,600 Excelsior B Series by going gate to wire in 1:58.4, beating Universe Blue Chip (Kevin Cummings) by five lengths. Co-owned by trainer Jim Graham, Tim Warner, Ed Peron and Paul Tandlmayer, Wasn't Me (American Ideal-Miss Innocent) returned $2.30 for the win.
Buffalo Raceway's 2022 Driver Of The Meet, Morrill Jr., didn't rest on his laurels as he produced a five-bagger during the afternoon. Trainer Samuel Smith had two victories.
The final two cards of the 2022 season will take place on Friday and Saturday afternoons with 10-race programs to commence each day at 1:30 p.m. The simulcast center will close after the action on Sunday afternoon.
For more information including the latest news, upcoming
promotions, entries, results and race replays, go to www.buffaloraceway.com
