Alexa Skye was expected to face her toughest test of the year in the second of two $35,000 divisions of the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series on Friday night at Yonkers Raceway. However, when two mares were scratched prior to the race, reducing the field to just five, the task was made considerably easier for driver Todd McCarthy.
Nevertheless, it took two early moves for the four-year-old daughter of Somebeachsomewhere to secure the front, but the rest was once again quite easy as Alexa Skye made it three straight conquests in the series, scoring by a comfortable margin in 1:53.4.
My Ruebe Star N (Jordan Stratton) left alertly, as did Blue Ivy (Tyler Buter). The pair was directly inside Alexa Skye, the race favourite, and McCarthy settled in third as My Ruebe Star N seated Blue Ivy and marched towards the opening quarter. Alexa Skye moved before the quarter had been passed, secured the lead after the :27.4 quarter, and from there was in control. After a :29.4 second quarter, McCarthy and Alexa Skye had all of the rest time they needed and quickly marched off with a :28-second third quarter, gaining some separation from My Ruebe Star N as Buter and Blue Ivy moved to the outside to try to track down the leader.
McCarthy felt the urgency of the threat that Blue Ivy, a first leg winner, posed and began to urge Alexa Skye on coming off the final turn. He kept active in the bike, and it certainly woke up the sharp mare as she sprinted off with a :28.1 kicker, keeping Blue Ivy at bay, with Siesta Beach (Matt Kakaley) closing strongly late for third.
Trained and co-owned by Jeff Cullipher, along with Pollack Racing LLC., Alexa Skye was a winner for the sixth time in 2021 and is just $250 shy of the $100,000 mark in seasonal earnings. This was her 15th victory overall, and she now has banked $209,890 lifetime. Sent off as the 2-5 favourite, Alexa Skye returned $2.80 to win.
In the first $35,000 division, 1-2 favourite Snobbytown took command shortly past the start and went wire-to-wire for driver George Brennan and trainer Ron Burke. It was the first win in the series for the 5-year-old mare.
Snobbytown cut fractions of :27.4 and :57.1 for the opening half, and then discarded token pressure by Maczaffair N (Stratton) past the halfway mark. Snobbytown remained in control at three-quarters, which she put up in 1:25.1, and Brennan was able to keep pocket-sitter Caviart Cherie (Kakaley) locked in until the late stages to secure a safe margin while pacing a :29.1 final quarter in the 1:54.2 mile. Caviart Cherie held down the place spot, with Keep Rockin A (Tim Tetrick) making a solid advance for third. Maczaffair N faded to fourth after a long first-over grind.
Snobbytown, a daughter of Nob Hill High, is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and Jason Melillo. Snobbytown, who paid $3.10 for the victory as the 1-2 choice, now has a record of 20-16-6 from 49 appearances, and she has put away $376,755.
Two more preliminary rounds remain in the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series on Friday, April 2 and Friday, April 9. The final is scheduled to take place on Monday, April 19.
The third leg of the MGM Borgata Pacing Series will be the feature on Monday night's card at Yonkers Raceway, with three $40,000 divisions on the 10-race program.
Yonkers races Monday through Friday night with a first post time at 7:15 p.m.
(Yonkers)