Divine Deo and Belina both posted their second victories in the MGM Rewards Ladies Pacing Series at Yonkers Raceway by winning Wednesday night's pair of $20,000 divisions of the last preliminary round of the event.
Starting from post one in the opening flight, Divine Deo (George Brennan) was overtaken by She Knows It All (Joe Bongiorno) in the early going, but Brennan had Divine Deo out and on the move from the pocket to take control before the :28.4 opening quarter and landed on top past that marker. Divine Deo continued to show the way to the half in :57.4 and the three-quarters in 1:26.2, but going to the latter station, she was challenged on the outside by a first-over Gabbys Girl (Jason Bartlett), who had tipped out of the three-hole on the third turn.
Gabbys Girl tried hard through the final quarter, but she just couldn't get by Divine Deo, who tallied by a length and a quarter in 1:54.2. Pleasure Seeker (Tyler Buter) advanced from fifth to third in the last quarter.
A four-year-old Bettors Delight mare, Divine Deo is trained by Burke for the ownership group of Burke Racing Stable LLC. and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. This was her 12th win from 36 career starts, and she has now earned $103,275. She was sent off at 1-5 and paid $2.40 to win.
In the other grouping, JM Betonsix (Yannick Gingras) stepped to the point from post four but then made a brief break on the first turn, leaving Filly (Bongiorno) in command. However, Gingras was able to get JM Betonsix back on-stride, and she would advance from the two-hole to the lead beyond a :28.1 opening quarter. Watching all that from third had been Belina (Jordan Stratton), and Stratton would angle his charge to the outside on the second bend. After being fed the clear racetrack, Belina rolled up and was able to clear JM Betonsix nearing the :57.4 half.
From there, Belina held firm to the 1:26.2 three-quarters, successfully handling a first-over attempt by State Of Mind (Brennan), and then got separation from the others late on the far turn. JM Betonsix did make some gains through the stretch, but it wasn't enough, as Belina hit the wire a length and a quarter in front in a 1:54.2 mile. State Of Mind wound up third.
Belina, a four-year-old daughter of Sunshine Beach, is trained by Lance Hudson for owner William Hartt. Belina is now a six-time winner from 24 lifetime starts, and she increased her earnings to $79,986. She returned $3.40 to win as the 3-5 favourite.
The MGM Rewards Ladies Pacing Series will conclude next Wednesday night (March 30) with the $50,000 final and a $30,000 consolation.
More stakes action is ahead at Yonkers, with the second round of the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series on Friday (March 25), and the second leg of the MGM Borgata Pacing Series on Monday (March 28).
Leg one winners Dragon Roll (post one), Easy To Please (post four), and Drama Act (post six) face off in the second $40,000 Matchmaker tilt (race five), and Mystical Carrie, the remaining opening round winner, has post one in the last $40,000 division (race seven).
All five opening round winners in the MGM Borgata Pacing Series will be back in action on Monday. Nandolo N (post five) is in race two, Dragon Said (post five) will step on the track in race five, This Is The Plan (post four) and Western Joe (post seven) face off in race seven, and Leonidas A (post seven) competes in race eight. There are five $50,000 splits in total.
Yonkers is currently racing on a Monday-Friday schedule, with post time each night at 6:55 p.m.
(Yonkers)