Alluneedisfaith N (Jim Marohn Jr., $10.40) took it the distance Saturday night (Oct. 19), winning Yonkers Raceway’s $42,000 Open Handicap Pace.
From post position No. 4—in one notch after a defection—Alluneedisfaith N slipped past Dancin Dragon (Jason Bartlett) before a :28.4 opening quarter-mile. The teletimer didn’t get much more of a workout by a :57.4 intermission, which was fine by the leader.
Nearing the half, Theartofconfusion A (Austin Siegelman), The Real One (Pat Lachance) and Prairie Panther (Brent Holland) found themselves in an outer-tier logjam, with Prairie Panther pushed wide as the other two seemed to extricate the cones late.
Meanwhile, Alluneedisfaith N continued past a 1:25.2 three-quarters, opening a length-and-a-half lead in and out of the final turn. He finished it off, whipping Dancin Dragon by a length in 1:53.2. The above troika of The Real One, Theartofconfusion A and Prairie Panther wound up third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
Micky Gee N (Jordan Stratton) never fired as the slight 2-1 choice, winding up last in the seven-horse soiree.
For fourth choice Alluneedisfaith N, a five-year-old Down Under Art Major gelding owned by Robert Cooper Stables and trained by Ross Croghan, the win was his sixth in 22 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $41, the triple returned $141 and the superfecta paid $376.
(With files from Yonkers Raceway)