Stonebridge Tonic -- a horse who doesn't need a course -- maintained the form spree Saturday night, winning Yonkers Raceway's $42,000 Open Handicap Pace
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Assigned post position No. 6, Stonebridge Tonic and driver Dan Dube worked around Power Of A Moment (Brent Holland) before a :26.3 opening quarter-mile. He then rated a :29-second half (:55.3) before reformed claimer -- and tepid 2-1 choice -- Jacked Up (George Brennan) stopped by for a visit.
Stonebridge Tonic found a 1:23.3 three-quarters, taking a couple of lengths into the lane. From there, he hit the mile in 1:51.3, needing only to hold off the rival on his back. He did, beating Power Of A Moment by a length-and-a-quarter while getting the mile-and-one-sixteenth in 1:58.4. It was the seventh consecutive win over five different surfaces in four different states for Stonebridge Tonic.
Trade Editor (Ron Pierce) sat the cones for third, while Jacked Up and Southern Allie (Yannick Gingras) grabbed the leftovers.
For Stonebridge Tonic, a four-year-old son of Camluck trained by Mark Ford for co-owners Leonard Gamble of Etobicoke, Ont. and Gregg McNair of Guelph, Ont., he returned $6.60 (second choice) for his ninth win in 19 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $33.20, with the triple returning a not-too-gross $144.
(With files from Yonkers Raceway)