Jimmy Watson trainee Yankee B Something once again flexed her might over the pacing mares at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel with a forceful 1:50.3 victory on a speed mission in the featured $41,667 Fillies & Mares Open Handicap on Monday, April 13.
Leaving from post four, driver Geremy Bobbitt hustled Yankee B Something forward into a pocket spot behind Aintnothingucando (Brandon Bates) passing a :25.4 first quarter. Bobbitt promptly vacated the pocket and circled Yankee B Something to the lead, settling on the point before a :54.4 half. Yankee B Something strolled up the backside and remained game once Tarshish (Marcus Miller) mounted her first-over attack from third marching to three-quarters in 1:22.2. Tarshish dug into Yankee B Something's leading margin all through the last turn but Bobbitt kept his charge chugging at the pylons and held their ground in a three-way stretch sprint for the win. Lyin Eyes (Joey Putnam) launched from a second-over trip for second, beaten a quarter length, with Tarshish settling for third between horses.
Yankee B Something collected her second win from five starts this season – her other win was a 1:52.1 score in the Fillies & Mares Open Pace during opening week. She returned $11.76 to win this time out.
The six-year-old Always B Miki-Somethinginthewater mare now has 17 career wins in 88 starts with $441,163 in earnings for owner Doug Davis of Brandon, Mississippi.
Regally bred Banderas later delivered in the $34,722 Open 2 Handicap Pace with Ronnie Wrenn Jr. in the sulky. A four-year-old stallion by Tall Dark Stranger out of Breeders Crown champion Reflect With Me, Banderas sustained a first-over grind in the back half to overhaul longshot pacesetter Speaking Volumes (Josert Fonseca) in the final strides for a 1:51.4 win as the 4-5 favourite, with Fox Valley Langley (Geremy Bobbitt) rallying from second-over for second. Banderas paid $3.64 to win.
The Ron Burke trainee, who is two-for-three this year, collected his seventh career win from 34 starts and has now banked $308,268. He competes for owners Burke Racing Stable of Fredericktown, Pennsylvania, Frank Canzone of Scarsdale, New York, Weaver Bruscemi of Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania and Joe Di Scala Jr. of Somers, New York.
Racing at Oak Grove resumes on Tuesday, April 14 with a 12-race card headlined by the $30,000 USD Open Handicap Trot in the seventh race. The $1 Pick 4, with a takeout of just 15 per cent, has a carryover going into Tuesday worth $2,217.08. The Pick 4 sequence covers races six through nine. First-race post time at Oak Grove is 1:10 p.m. (CDT).
(With files from Oak Grove)