Super Manning and driver Matt Kakaley took advantage of a late-race rest stop Friday night, winning Yonkers Raceway’s $38,000 Open Handicap Trot.
In no particular hurry from post position No. 5, Super Manning’s job became easier when 8-5 choice Coraggioso (Brian Sears) jumped it off leaving and went off the course. That allowed eight-hole assignee DWs NY Yank (George Brennan) to work around 60-1 Hesgotlegs (Larry Stalbaum) before a :28-second opening quarter-mile.
The leader, a perfect six-for-six at Yonkers this season entering this race, then rated a :57.4 intermission before Super Manning began his stroll from sixth. He was able to grab a breather when the longshot in the pocket dropped anchor before a 1:26.4 three-quarters.
'DW' opened a couple of lengths entering the lane, with Super Manning again taking up the chase. He chased, then caught, the leader, winning by a measured neck in 1:55. Third -- four and a half lengths away -- went to Backstreet Hanover (Tyler Buter), with Blacktuxwhitesocks (Jordan Stratton) and Fortunista (Eric Carlson) coming away with the lesser pay envelopes.
Second choice Super Manning, a six-year-old Diamond Goal homebred owned by Joseph Pennacchio and trained by Kevin Carr, returned $6.10 for his second win in 10 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $18.40, with the triple returning $63.
Saturday night’s million-dollar stakes program is led by North America’s two richest races of the season to date, the Raceway’s $567,000 final of the George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series (11th race) and the $371,400 final of the Blue Chip Matchmaker (ninth race). A pair of series consolations, worth $100,000 (Levy) and $75,000 (Matchmaker), go as races eight and 10, respectively.
(Yonkers Raceway)