Tioga Downs played host to two $59,000 divisions of the New York Sire Stakes for three-year-old pacing fillies on Sunday (July 12), with Hen Party ($2.70) and Merga Hanover ($41.20) taking their respective divisions.
Hen Party and Andy McCarthy rolled to an easy 1:52 win in the first division.
The Fun Marshall (Mitchell Cushing) went straight to the lead but, was quickly passed by Alleyesonme AS (Scott Zeron) en route to a :27.3 first quarter. Hen Party brushed to the lead by the stands for the first time and controlled middle splits of :55.1 and 1:24.
Off the turn for home the only one with a shot to beat Hen Party was runner-up Alleyesonme AS, but she couldn't get close as Hen Party breezed home to her second win of the season. Rapunzel Bluechip (Jason Bartlett) finished a distant third.
Hen Party, a three-year-old filly by Roll With Joe, is owned by Crawford Farms Racing and trained by Tony Alagna.
Merga Hanover and Matt Kakaley charged late to win the second division.
Racine Bell (Bartlett) flew out of the gate to dictate fractions of :27 and :55.4. As they reached the backstretch, So Rude (Joe Bongiorno) advanced first-up to put on the pressure, but Racine Bell held on to a slight lead as they hit three-quarters in 1:22.1.
So Rude wrestled the lead away as they reached the stretch, only for Merga Hanover to pop three-wide out of the pocket in mid-stretch to win in a lifetime best of 1:51.1. So Rude held for second, with Dragon Roll (Jim Morrill Jr.) coming up to get third.
Merga Hanover, a daughter of American Ideal, is trained by Ron Burke for owners Joe Sbrocco, William Donovan and Thomas and Scott Dillon. It was her first win this season and the seventh of her career.
Live racing returns to Tioga Downs on Friday (July 17) starting at 4 p.m.
(with files from Tioga Downs)