Favoured Sophomore Fillies Sweep NYSS At Tioga

The Last Martini winning at Tioga Downs

Tioga Downs hosted two $71,918 divisions of the New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) for sophomore pacing fillies on Sunday, June 1 with the favourites, The Last Martini and Shes A Streaker, posting matching 1:51.4 victories.

Defending NYSS champion The Last Martini ($2.20) made a successful season's debut in the first division with Jason Bartlett driving for trainer Jared Bako and owner Glenview Livestock Ltd. of Ingersoll, Ont.

The Last Martini got the lead just before hitting the quarter in :27.4 and continued to the half in :56.1 and three-quarters in 1:24.2. Fashion Terror (Braxten Boyd) gave it everything she had from the pocket in the stretch but couldn’t get close to The Last Martini, who won by 1-1/4 lengths with a :27.2 final frame. Fansville (Yannick Gingras) followed back in third. 

A daughter of Huntsville out of Martinique, The Last Martini has a career record reading 5-4-1 from 11 starts with earnings totalling $736,283, thanks in large part to her NYSS Championship win and runner-up performances in the Shes A Great Lady and Breeders Down last year. 

Shes A Streaker ($2.40) took a new lifetime mark in her NYSS victory with Yannick Gingras aboard for trainer Ron Burke. 

Send It Down Slim (Mark MacDonald) was first to the quarter in :27 but Shes A Streaker took over the lead with just over a lap to go and reached the half in :55.3. Hurrikane Marigold (Jason Bartlett) was first to make a move down the backstretch but never got close to Shes A Streaker, who was clear on top at three-quarter in 1:23.4 and won easily by 1-1/2 lengths over Send It Down Slim, with Strutsville (Ridge Warren) following in third.

The Huntsville-Mikayla Rose filly, who ended her freshman season finishing third in the Three Diamonds won by U.S. divisional champion Miki And Minnie, hasn't missed the board in her first five sophomore starts with this outing marking her second seasonal win. She improved her lifetime record to 3-4-7 in 18 starts while her bankroll climbed to $253,620 for owners Burke Racing Stable, Knox Services, Frank Baldachino and J&T Silva-Purnell & Libby. 

Jason Bartlett also won a $27,397 Excelsior Series division with the Cory Stratton-trained Chanceoflightning in 1:54.1. Driver Mark MacDonald and trainer Ray Schnittker teamed up to win two of the five Excelsior splits with Huntingfortreasure in 1:53.4 and Cervi in 1:54.4. The other divisions went to Craig Knude trainee Tennis Queen (Braxten Boyd) in 1:55.1 and Dressed To Kill (Ridge Warren) in 1:53.4 for the Janice Connor stable.

Live harness racing returns to Tioga Downs on Friday, June 5, with a post time of 6:15 p.m.

(With files from Tioga Downs; photo of The Last Martini winning on June 1)

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