Favoured Money Maven (Yannick Gingras, $5.40) held sway after a long grind Sunday afternoon (January 14) and won Yonkers Raceway’s $50,000 Open Handicap Trot.
The field of nine went as the first of seven ‘French’ trots, which saw Money Maven get away third after a Post 3 start.
Last week’s off-the-pace winner, Consolidator (driven by Jim Marohn Jr.), left hard early. The lass worked around the pole-sitting Cash Me Out (Eric Goodell) and laid down early intervals of :28.4 and :57.4.
Money Maven, who snapped in a very good effort a week ago, edged from third, with second-tier Tight Lines (Jeff Gregory) second-over. The fave engaged a stubborn Consolidator through a 1:28.2 three-quarters and a 1:57.2 milepost, and finally put ‘the ma’am’ away early in the lane.
Money Maven (3), pictured in victory at Yonkers Raceway on Sunday, January 14, 2018 (Darragh Riordan)
Cash Me Out then slid out after Tight Lines retreated and appeared to have dead aim, but seemingly hung late. Money Maven held sway by a neck, and trotted the mile-and-quarter in 2:28.3. Deep closer Homen Dry (Matt Kakaley) and Meladys Monet arrived late for third and fourth, respectively, while Luminosity (George Brennan) settled for the final pay envelope.
For Money Maven, a nine-year-old Revenue S gelding owned by Kapildeo Singh and trained by Rene Allard, it was his first win in a pair of seasonal starts. The exacta paid $18 and the ‘triple’ returned $66.50.
The season’s first ‘New York, New York Double’ offered a winning combination of 4-Lezendary (Aqueduct’s third race) and 1-Inukchuk Chuck (Yonkers’ fifth race) paid $55 for every correct $1 wager. Total pool was $6,236.
BRENNAN AND THE ‘OLD MEN’
Put Foiled Again together with Run and Tell Pap and you get a 25-year-old gelding. Well, not quite, but…
While the exploits of 14-year-old pacer Foiled Again — he of the 99 career wins and sport’s-best $7.5 million lifetime bankroll — have been well-documented, trotter Run And Tell Pap also just keeps on keepin’ on.
The 11-year-old son of High Falls pounced from the pocket at a $19 mutuel Sunday afternoon (January 14). From Post 4, he won the $20,000, sixth race by a neck in 2:30.1 for the mile-and-a-quarter distance.
Run And Tell Pap (4), victorious at Yonkers Raceway on Sunday, January 14, 2017 (Darragh Riordan)
‘Pap,’ acquired by co-owners (as Burke Racing, trainer) Ron Burke and Weaver Bruscemi in late November, stalked Jacks To Open (Matt Kakaley) around the oval, then picked him off late. Run and Tell Pap, who makes his living as an optional $20,000 claimer, has ‘only’ 68 career wins from 233 starts to go along with more than $766,000 in earnings.
He’s compiled four, six-figure purse seasons, including one as a two-year-old and one a season ago at 10.
What these two grizzled vets have in common, besides being Burke stablemates and winning at Yonkers the past two days, is one George Brennan.
“This trotter (Run And Tell Pap) seems as if (he) can do go all day,” Brennan said. “I thought he was good last week (first-up before tiring), but his hopples seemed a bit tight. Today, I just moved my bike a bit closer to him and no problem.”
As far any trade secrets to driving the geriatric geldings, Brennan deferred.
“None. They’re just pros,” he said. “I mean Foiled Again last (Saturday) night, gets a bit lazy on the front end, then sees another horse and he knows what to do.”
With 167 wins between the two of them, they know exactly what to do.
(Yonkers Raceway)