It was like a paid public workout for Vivians Dream ($2.10) in her $57,000 division of the New York Sire Stakes for the three-year-old filly pacers on Wednesday afternoon (May 31) at Buffalo Raceway as she toyed with the field in notching a 1-1/4 length win over Dame in a dialed down 1:54.2 over the fast track.
In her career debut last season in the New York Sire Stakes at Buffalo Raceway, Vivians Dream was the talk of the town as she posted the victory and crushed the two-year-old filly pacing track record in doing so. But there wasn't much fanfare after her first three-year-old start as Vivians Dream was strong, steady and workman-like.
Driver Jim Morrill Jr. said of victory aboard Vivians Dream: "It wasn't me. Barring any bad luck, she couldn't lose unless something freaky happened." Fortunately, nothing did.
The toughest task Morrill Jr. had along the way with Vivians Dream was pulling her out from second to the lead approaching the first panel.
With respectable fractions of :27.4, :56.4 and 1:26, Vivians Dream got a little mild pressure from the pocket-sitting Dame and the first-over Windsum Tiara. But in the stretch, Morrill Jr. never moved a muscle and let Vivians Dream do her thing.
There were no anxious moments in the homestretch as Vivians Dream completed mile in 1:54.2, well off the track mark of 1:52.2 established last year by Gotthegreenlight. Dame (Marcus Miller) held on for second with Windsum Tiara (Kevin Cummings) finishing in third.
Owned by Forrest Bartlett and conditioned by Kevin Lare, Vivians Dream (American Ideal-Sports Chic) put $28,500 in the bank in her initial try of 2023. She has now won eight of 14 career starts and jacked her career earnings to $468,270.
Turn On The Charm ($6) turned on the jets in the final quarter-mile and collected the victory in the $58,100 first division of the New York Sire Stakes for the three-year-old filly pacers. She rolled past B On The Hunt (Cummings) and the even-money favourite Rock My Socks (John MacDonald) by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:54.2.
Rock My Socks battled with B On The Hunt and Bama Breeze for early command and finally took the top in a snappy :27.2. With :56.3 opening half on the board, Turn On The Charm (Miller) followed the cover American Starlight to the final marker.
Now three-wide and winging, Turn On The Charm steadily pushed her way to the lead in the lane and marched home for the win, leaving B On The Hunt and Rock My Socks behind for second and third-place honours, respectively. A :28.3 final quarter proved to be enough for Turn On The Charm and earned the trip to the winner's circle.
Miller said of the race: "I didn't get away quite as close as I wanted to because the three inside horses were racing pretty hard. I then followed some cover and she exploded."
Co-owned by Megan Beauchamp and John Coffey, Turn On The Charm (Huntsville-Charming Hill) is trained by Bruce Clarke. It was the second score in three attempts this year for Turn On The Charm, now a winner of $40.300 on the year and $101,265 in her career.
In the lone $20,000 Excelsior Series race, Lady Jericho (Joseph Chindano Jr.) didn't disappoint as the heavy favourite as she wired the field in 1:57.2. She beat Beantown (Miller) by 1-1/2 lengths while Cherry Valley (Macdonald) saw her four-race winning streak come to an end with a third-place finish.
Lady Jericho ($2.20) took control off the starting gate and protected pylon position in hitting the opening quarter in 29.1. After splits of :59.3 and 1:29.3, Lady Jericho found company on the outside going around the final turn as Cherry Valley got even terms. But a final panel of :27.4 produced by Lady Jericho eliminated the hopes of Bean Babe and Cherry Valley.
Owned by Jennifer Safford and trained by John Berger, Lady Jericho (Dudes The Man-Taylorlane Diva) earned her third victory in four tries in 2023. The win upped her seasonal earnings to $20,380 and career bankroll to $43,880.
Morrill Jr., Buffalo Raceway's runaway leader in the driver's standings, added six more into the win column during the afternoon while Cummings and Chindano Jr. had doubles. Samuel Smith had three training victories and Russell Bratt and Andrew Torre had two each.
Racing will continue on Friday afternoon (June 2) at 2:30 p.m. with an 11-race card scheduled.
(Buffalo Raceway)