Code Word, driven by Jason Bartlett, was left to his own devices and made 'em pay Saturday night, easily winning Yonkers Raceway's $44,000 Open Handicap Pace.
Leaving all by his lonesome from post position No. 4, Code Word had no issues getting around inside assignee McDynamite (Brent Holland) and making the lead. A pair of tepid :28.1 quarters (:56.2 half) gave Code Word the upper hoof before River Shark (Pat Lachance) tried it first-up, while even-money favourite Blatantly Good (George Brennan) was behind that one.
However, Code Word threw in a :27.1 third interval (1:23.2 three-quarters), losing both the pocket-sitter and the uncovered foe at the same time. Code Word was up four and a half lengths turning for home and widened that margin to six lengths at the wire, which he found in 1:51.3. P H Jackpot (Jim Pantaleano) won the scrum for second, with Blatantly Good, McDynamite and Aussie Reactor A (Jordan Stratton) grabbing the leftovers.
For Code Word, a five-year-old son of Western Terror co-owned (as Burke Racing) by trainer Ron Burke, Frank Baldachino, Weaver Bruscemi and Lawrence Karr, he returned $10.20 (third choice) for his eighth win in 24 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $122, with the triple returning $528.
(With files from Yonkers Raceway)