Manceiver Makes Haste At Buffalo
Manceiver wasted no time in re-establishing himself at Buffalo Raceway, as he wired the field in 1:56.4 over the 'sloppy' track in the $11,000 Open Handicap Pace on a rainy Saturday night (March 30).
Racing his past two starts at Northfield Park, Manceiver returned home to Buffalo Raceway where he had won three of his past four outings. Starting from the inside post, Manceiver didn't expend much energy in reaching the top. Using fractions of :28.2, :58.1 and 1:27.3, Manceiver had to deal with just a mild threat from runner-up Bugatti in deep stretch but still was a half length in front at the wire. Heaven Rocks took third.
Owned by Mike Torcello and trained by Gerry Sarama, Kevin Cummings drove the five-year-old gelding to his fifth victory in 10 tries. He has now earned $25,370 in 2019 and $120,027 lifetime.
In the $9,500 Class A Pace, China Dream gave himself some separation from the field in the third panel with a :28.4 split and proved best with neck victory over Utah Beach in 1:57.1.
After posting sensible fractions of :30.0 and :59.2, driver Billy Davis Jr. unleashed China Dream in the backstretch. Enjoying a length advantage with a frame to go, Utah Beach made steady progress but ran out of room as China Dream took the neck decision. Harry Hoo N took the show position.
Owned by Jack and Maria Rice, the eight-year-old gelded China Dream, by If I Can Dream-China Art, now has three wins in 10 attempts this season. His lifetime earnings went to $300,722.
McNeight III completed the evening with four trips to the winner's circle with Davis Jr. collecting three and Monti and Cummings a pair. Mike Ohol had a training triple with Sarama and Rice each getting two victories.
Racing will resume on Wednesday, April 3 at 5 p.m. with a 10-race program set. The action will continue on later in the week with the first Friday program of the season scheduled for 5 p.m. while Saturday's action will commence at 6 p.m.
(with files from Buffalo Raceway)