Celebrity Bluechip, driven by Jason Bartlett, was up on the line Friday night, winning Yonkers Raceway's $33,000 Open Handicap Trot

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Leaving from post position No. 3, he sat quietly as last week's upset winner, Coach Fox (Larry Stalbaum), worked around Genesis Royal Oak (Brent Holland) before a :28-second opening quarter-mile.

Farifant (Mark MacDonald), who floated out for a seat, then advanced toward the leader before a :57.1 intermission. Celebrity Bluechip was able to slip out when 9-5 favourite Aisling (Eric Goodell) badly gapped from second over.

The pursuer turned up the pressure in and out of a 1:25.4 three-quarters, with Farifant eventually grinding Coach Fox into submission. Farifant owned a short lead into the lane, and led every step until the last one. Celebrity Bluechip won by a schnozz in a life-best 1:55.1. The minor awards went to an on-the-scene-late Flex The Muscle (Jeff Gregory), Coach Fox and Aisling.

For Celebrity Bluechip, a five-year-old statebred Credit Winner gelding co-owned (as Burke Racing) by trainer Ron Burke, Weaver Bruscemi, Panhellenic Stable Corp., and M1 Stable, he returned $10 (second choice) for his second win in 13 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $83, with the triple returning $349.50.

Special Friday night props to Rookie Mistake (Stalbaum), who won the $17,000, second race trot in 1:55, the fastest local mile of the season and a track record for aged geldings.

(Yonkers Raceway)