Pocket-sitting Breakheart Pass, driven by Yannick Gingras, authored the upset Friday night, winning Yonkers Raceway's co-featured $38,000 Filly and Mare Open Handicap Pace
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Leaving from post position No. 7, Breakheart Pass was one of several interested early. She wound up making the lead before yielding to 11-10 choice Tomorrowpan just after a :27.1 opening quarter-mile.
Before a :56.3 half, rank outsider Carnivalocity (Jim Pantaleano) elected to come first-up at 51-1, with the predictable result of stalling the outer movers and shakers. Both Lightning Treasure (Dan Dube) and On The Glass (Eric Goodell) had to go wide early.
Meanwhile, Tomorrowpan maintained her advantage in and out of the 1:25.1 three-quarters, taking a couple of lengths into the lane.
However, right at the 1:53.1 mile marker, she began to shorten stride. Extricating herself, Breakheart Pass edged past, winning by a length and negotiating the mile-and-one-sixteenth in 2:00.2.
Tomorrowpan saved second, with Hulas Z Tam (Pat Lachance), Fox Valley Sage (Jordan Stratton) and Lightning Treasure came away with the remainder.
For Breakheart Pass, a seven-year-old daughter of Western Hero co-owned by trainer Ron Burke (as Burke Racing) and Weaver Bruscemi, she returned $26.60 (sixth choice) for her fifth win in 26 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $78, with the triple returning $247.50.
Friday night's co-featured $38,000 Open Handicap Trot saw another upsetter, this one from 24-1 eighth-choice Wuthering Hanover, driven by Pantaleano.
At the outset, Gurf (Dube) looped Wind Surfer (Brian Sears) before the latter secured the lead after a :27.2 opening interval. Passing the :57-second half, Wuthering Hanover--away third from post No. 3--was on the move. He slid out in front of KLM Express (Jim Marshall III) just after the half and went right past Wind Surfer.
From there, a 1:25.2 three-quarters gave "Wuthering" a 2-1/2 length lead entering the lane. He found the mile 1:55 and the added-distance in 2:02.3. Wind Surfer saved second, beaten three-quarters of a length, with 17-10 favourite Looking Hanover (Gingras), Baby Boy Grin (Stratton) and Fools Revenue (Brennan) rounded out the payees.
For Wuthering Hanover, a five-year-old Andover Hall gelding co-owned by Randy Bendis, Reed Broadway, Diane Novosel and James Walton and trained by Albert Meyer, he returned $50.50 for his sixth win in 32 '11 tries. The exacta paid $348.50, the triple returned $2,175 and the superfecta paid $25,266 (base $2 payoff, there were six 10-cent tickets at $1,263.30 each).
(Yonkers Raceway)