Yonkers Raceway's Friday night $37,000 co-featured Open Handicaps - Pace for the ladies and a Trot for all with proper credentials - were won by a wiring Rock N Load and newly-minted millionaire Likeabatoutahell.
Rock N Load, involved at the start from post position three, made the lead for driver Dan Dube after Classy Lane Rose chopped out a :26.3 opening quarter-mile. Dawns Legacy was third, with 11-10 choice, last week's winner Rock N Soul, away fourth.
That one, caught wide early, was on the move again at the :56.1 intermission, while Royal Cee Cee N was second-over. Rock N Load was maintaining her lead in and out of a 1:24.4 three-quarters, up a length tuning for home.
Royal Cee Cee N launched her wide bid, buy could not reached, missing by a half-length in 1:53.4. Third went to Classy Lane Rose, with Dawns Legacy and Campanile rounding out the payees. Rock N Soul tired to last among the octet.
For third choice Rock N Load, a five-year-old daughter of Rocknroll Hanover trained by Danny Gill for co-owners Edward Hall and James Hall Jr., it was her seventh win in 34 seasonal starts.
The weekly trotting feature saw Likeabatoutahell - doing his bidding from post 6 - work out a second-over trip for driver George Brennan. He watched early as a threesome - Somebody AS (Mark MacDonald), 3-2 favourite Zooming (Bartlett) and Brandos Muscle Man (Eric Goodell) - had designs on leaving.
Soon after a double-parked Brando Muscle Man made the lead (:27.2 quarter), Somebody AS broke. That one caught back to race first-over, with Likeabatoutahell slipping out from sixth.
It was Brandos Muscle Man finding a :57-second half and 1:26.1 three-quarters, but he was about done in and out of the final turn. Likeabatoutahell was widest and fastest in 1:56.
Meladys Monet (Stratton) was a cone-skimming second with Zooming, Watkins (Sears) and a recovering Somebody AS settling for the remainder.
For fourth choice Likeabatoutahell, a 10-year-old S Js Caviar gelding trained by Trond Smedshammer for owner-breeder Michael Andrew, he's now 6-for-29 this season (40-for-165 lifetime with earnings of $1,005,393).
Saturday features eliminations for both the Messenger Stakes and Lady Maud, premier events for three-year-old pacers. The former, final jewel of the Pacing Triple Crown, has a pair of five-horse, $40,000 elims. The latter offers a pair of seven-horse, $20,000 elims. Finals, worth $450,000 (Messenger) and $176,684 (Maud), are both scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 2.
Also note that since no one took down Friday night’s Pick 5, Saturday’s rendition (50-cent base wager, races 5 through 9) offers a $10,000 guaranteed pool.
(Yonkers Raceway)