The favoured Charmed Life was first-up and faultless on Sunday afternoon (November 12), as the Ontario-sired mare captured Yonkers Raceway’s $40,000 Open Handicap Trot.

With ‘only’ a seven-horse field, the weekly trotting feature was raced at the distance of one mile. Charmed Life (Yannick Gingras, $5.50), who was unhurried from Post 3, witnessed an early scrum for the lead. A very wide In Secret (driven by George Brennan) eventually worked around Georgies Pockets (Joe Bongiorno) just after the :27.3 opening quarter-mile.

After the half-mile indicator flashed in :57, Charmed Life made an advance from fourth. The lone lass in the contest then found minimal resistance as In Secret closed up shop around the 1:26 three-quarters.

Charmed Life, showing few effects from 21 days out, opened a couple of lengths in and out of the final turn. She eventually closed the deal and won by two and three-quarter lengths in 1:54.4. Homen Dry (Jason Bartlett) edged Tight Lines (Jeff Gregory) for second. Buen Camino (Brian Sears) and ‘Georgie’ rounded out the payees.

Charmed Life is a seven-year-old daughter of Majestic Son that is co-owned (as Allard Racing) by (trainer) Rene Allard, Yves Sarazin and VIP Internet Stable. The victory was Charmed Life’s seventh from 22 seasonal starts (she now has career earnings in excess of $1.2 million). The exacta (two wagering choices) paid $33, while the ‘triple’ returned $99. The superfecta paid $203.

Sunday’s return of the ‘New York, New York Double’ offered a winning combination of 1-Dig That Mine (Aqueduct’s third race) and 6-Jacks To Open (Yonkers’ fifth race), which returned $15.90 for every correct $1 wager. The total pool was $4,608.

Sunday matinees, along with the ‘New York, New York Double,’ will return on November 19 (post time to be announced).

(Yonkers Raceway)