Odds-on favourite Ideal Cowboy (Jason Bartlett, $3.60) held off a two-pronged challenge Saturday night, winning Yonkers Raceway’s $40,000 Open Handicap Pace.
Remanded outside his seven foes, Ideal Cowboy had a reasonably simple path to the lead. He worked around Texican N (Eric Carlson) and Bigtown Hero (Dan Dube) just before a 27-second opening quarter-mile.
From there, a somnambulant :56.2 half before the leader upped the tempo. A 1:24.1 three-quarters with Aslan (Brian Sears) taking his shot first-ever and Ideal Cowboy owning a length and a half lead into the lane.
However, with Bigtown Hero edging from the pocket and Texican N darting inside, Ideal Cowboy needed some reminders. He did get the line in time, a 1:52.1 nose in front of Bigtown Hero and a head ahead of Texican N. Aslan and The Real One (Pat Lachance) completed the cashers.
For Ideal Cowboy, a four-year-old American Ideal gelding trained by Jeffrey Bamond Jr. for co-owners Bamond Racing and J&T Silva Stables, the win was his ninth in 24 seasonal tries. The exacta paid $17.60, the triple paid $160.50 and the superfecta paid $530.
(Yonkers Raceway)