Bit Of A Legend N (Jordan Stratton, $13.80) couldn’t possibly have had a better eight-hole trip than he did Saturday night, winning Yonkers Raceway’s $45,000 Open Handicap Pace.
In play from behind the eight-ball, the Levy Series winner found a gaping three-hole for a brief respite, then marched toward the lead.
He made it around pole-sitting, 9-5 choice Rock N Roll World (George Brennan) before a pokey 28-second opening quarter-mile.
Then came a plodding, 29-second next station (57-second half), effectively ending the suspense. First Class Horse (Jason Bartlett), gapping his rivals earlier, moved first-up from fourth, but never threatened.
Bit Of A Legend N found a 1:25 three-quarters, taking a length and a half lead into the lane. He whipped Rock N Roll World by that same margin in 1:52.3, with First Class Horse, a way-after-the-fact The Real One (Pat Lachance) and Santa Fe Beachboy (Brent Holland) rounding out the payees.
For fourth choice Bit Of A Legend N, a seven-year-old Down Under son of Bettors Delight owned by Harry von Knoblauch and trained by Peter Tritton, the win was his 13th in 27 seasonal starts ($718,450). The exacta paid $42, the triple returned $197.50 and the superfecta paid $829.
Stratton’s four-win night moved him within nine of 3,000 career victories
(With files from Yonkers Raceway)