Wagering choices Luminosity (George Brennan, $4.90) and Michaels Power (Dan Dube, $5.50) both went down the road Saturday night, winning Yonkers Raceway’s co-featured $42,000 Open Handicaps.
Luminosity, from post position No. 7 in the weekly marquee trot, eschewed an early seat. He drove past Il Mago (Dube) just after a :27.4 opening quarter-mile. From there, a :56.3 intermission, then back-half markers of 1:25.2 and 1:54.1...the latter making it the fastest local trot mile of the season. Season-debuting Obrigado (Mark MacDonald) rallied into second -- beaten a length and a quarter -- from an assigned eight-hole (at 37-1), with Il Mago third. Dewycolorintheline (Jordan Stratton) and A Cool Million (Eric Carlson) rounded out the payees.
For Luminosity, a five-year-old Cash Hall gelding co-owned by trainer Ron Burke (as Burke Racing) and Weaver Bruscemi, it was his fifth win in 14 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $117, the triple returned $589 and the superfecta paid $1,858.
The week’s featured pace saw Michaels Power, from post No. 8, hold off Sapphire City (MacDonald) by a short nostril in a two-speed number (:27, :56.1, 1:24.4, 1:53). Third went a late-arriving The Real One (Pat Lachance), with Duel In The Sun (Brennan) and Big N Bad (Brian Sears) settling for the remainder. The first six finishers were separated by a length and a half.
For Michaels Power, a six-year-old homebred Camluck gelding bred/owned by Jeff Snyder and trained by Mark Silva, it was his sixth win in 13 ’15 tries. The exacta (two wagering favourites) paid $18.20, with the triple returning $47.60.
Special Saturday props to Moonliteonthebeach (Bartlett, $7.20), whose 1:51.1 win in the $25,000, 10th race pace matched Domethatagain’s fastest Westchester pacing mile of the season.
(Yonkers Raceway)