Continuing her quest to lock up divisional honours among the ICF two-year-old trotting filly set, Dr. Patrick Graham’s Fox Valley Yoko took another step towards securing those honours on Sunday night at Balmoral Park.
Fox Valley Yoko came charging through the lane to record a one and a quarter-length victory over five rivals in the $40,050 Violet Stakes. The final time of 1:58.2 was a new career mark for the youngster.
Masterfully handled by driver John De Long, the pair was content to save ground near the back of the compact field while Bi Polar Rose (driven by Travis Seekman) strolled through splits of :29.4, 1:00.4 and 1:30.
After watching their chief rival, Persuasive Look (Casey Leonard), overtake the pace setter as the field moved into the lane, De Long quickly maneuvered the Curt Grummel-trained miss into position with a sixteenth of a mile to go. The daughter of Pizzazzed—Yankee Victory Om responded beautifully, finding her top stride in the blink of an eye as she roared home in :27.4 to blow right by her opponents for her fifth win of the year. Persuasive Look was forced to settle for the bridesmaid role for the second straight week while Bi Polar Rose held on for third.
With the win, Fox Valley Yoko, who was the second choice in the wagering and returned $4.40, $2.20 and $2.10 across the board, ran her record to 5-3-2 from 11 starts with earnings of nearly $95,000.
Also on Sunday night, the $1 Pick 4 went unclaimed, so a carryover of $23,792 will be added to Wednesday’s (October 29) pool. Because of the large carryover, there will be a $50,000 guaranteed Pick 4 pool on Wednesday’s card. The Pick 4 will be contested on races six through nine on Wednesday night.
(With files from Balmoral)