Tepid choice Safe From Terror (Eric Goodell, $5.80), half-sibling to multi-millionaire Foiled Again, was safe from her seven rivals Friday night (February 16), winning Yonkers Raceway’s $40,000 Filly and Mare Open Handicap Pace.
Wanting no part of an early pocket, Safe From Terror—from assigned post position No. 2—took over from pole-given Juxta Cowgirl (Mark MacDonald) in what turned out to a paceless race.
Early intervals of :28 and :57.3 gave Safe From Terror the hammer, and she was not above using it. Jewel Lehigh A tried it first-up from third, offering a mild bid in and out of a 1:26.1 three-quarters. Motu Moonbeam N (George Brennan) was behind that one, not getting close to the leader, either.
Safe From Terror, with a length-and-a-half lead into the lane, never saw a serious threat. She won by a length in 1:55.2. Juxta Cowgirl did grab second as the 34-1 rank outsider, with a ground-saving All About Madi (Dan Dube), Jewel Lehigh A and Sell A Bit N (Jordan Stratton) settling for the balance.
For Safe From Terror, a six-year-old daughter of Western Terror and In A Safe Place owned by Big Bad DT Racing and trained by Rob Harmon, the win was her second in five seasonal starts. The exacta paid $98.50, the triple returned $898 and the superfecta paid $4,314.
Safe From Terror is a half-sister to harness racing's richest horse, 14-year-old Dragon Again gelding Foiled Again, who will take another shot at reaching the 100-win mark and increasing his $7.6 million bankroll next Thursday at Yonkers (entered in Race 8).
(With files from Yonkers Raceway)