Favoured Devil Child (Eric Goodell, $6.30) was gifted an early pocket and then held off the cavalry Friday night (October 7), winning Yonkers Raceway’s $45,000 Filly and Mare Open Handicap Pace.
In play from post position No. 5, she and her inside foe, Sell A Bit N (Jordan Stratton) both had designs on the lead. The latter made it before a :27.1 opening quarter-mile as Devil Child found a wide berth in front of Rock N Roll Xample (Dan Dube).
A cheapy :56.2 half should have played the leader, but why give away the ending here? Secrets Out N (Tyler Buter) offered just token, first-up abuse in and out of a 1:24.4 three-quarters, with Sell A Bit N owning a length lead into the lane.
However, the leading lass wasn’t up to it here, tiring noticeably...but not until she carried Devil Child where she needed to go. Devil Child ducked inside and was able to get the jump on her belated foes.
She whipped a flying-from-last Mach It A Par (Jason Bartlett) by a length and a quarter in 1:52.4, with Regil Elektra (Joe Bongiorno) a late-arriving third. Tessa Seelster (George Brennan) and Rock N Roll Xample rounded out the payees, the five cashers separated by just a length and three-quarters at the wire.
For Devil Child, a four-year-old statebred daughter of American Ideal co-owned by Susan Oakes & Crawford Farms Racing and trained by Chris Oakes, the win was her sixth in 18 seasonal starts. The exacta (two wagering choices) paid $40.40, with the triple returning $324.
(With files from Yonkers Raceway)