Super-sharp Gallant Yankee (Jason Bartlett) kept the form spree going Saturday night, dominating Yonkers Raceway's $32,500 Open Handicap Pace
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Ordered behind the eight-ball as the 3-2 favourite, Gallant Yankee found himself wide early. He was double-parked to grab the lead from McApulco (Cat Manzi) just after a :27.1 opening quarter-mile, then was left to his own devices. He zipped past a :55.4 half and 1:24 three-quarters, taking a 3 1/2-length lead into the lane.
All wrapped up at the 1:51.3 mile, he hit the line 4-3/4 lengths to the good in a mile-and-one-sixteenth 1:59.1 McApulco saved second, with Southwind Tabor (Jim Pantaleano), Arduous (George Brennan) and Royal Morn (Dan Dube) completing the cashers.
For Gallant Yankee, a five-year-old Western Hanover gelding trained by Mark Ford for owner James Snyder of Wooster, Ohio, he returned $5.10 for his sixth win (fourth consecutive) in eight seasonal starts. The exacta paid $32.40, with the triple returning $152.
The all-age, added-distance track record, already with a short shelf life, fell again Saturday night. Brennan and Giddy Up Delight ($12) snapped prohibitive favourite Legal Litigator (Dube) on the money in 1:58.2, two ticks faster than Sailing Cruise's week-old previous local best. Mark Ford co-owns with David Shea and trains the five-year-old Bettors Delight gelding.
That number lasted a bit more than two hours before Real Nice (Brennan, $4.30) won the $23,000, eighth-race pace in 1:58.1. The six-year-old Real Artist gelding is trained by Rich Banca for Connecticut co-owners Beverly and Gary Paganelli and Anthony Scussel.
(Yonkers Raceway)