It is said that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Horses, though, are another story.
Eight-year-old Mossdale Ben N has been showing off a new dimension to his game this season, and it could serve him well in Friday’s $478,000 USD MGM Borgata Pacing Series championship at MGM Yonkers Raceway as he looks to win the final for the second consecutive year.
Last season, his first in North America, Mossdale Ben N started 21 times and not once was he in front at the half-mile point of any race. In fact, only twice was he even second. This year, the same trend continued through his first four races, but in six starts since then, the Peter Tritton-trained gelding has won three times in gate-to-wire fashion and only once was he in the back half of the field at the midpoint of the three remaining races.
“It’s something that Pete wanted me to go out and try to do,” said Jim Marohn Jr., who has driven Mossdale Ben N in all 10 of his races this year and posted four wins and three seconds. “Pete knew he could leave really fast, and he was pretty confident that he was a horse that could race up toward the front.
“I’m really happy that he’s shown that versatility the past five or six weeks. He’s not just a closer, he can race from up near the pace, which a lot of times in this race is where the winner is – up close. He’s not just a one-dimensional horse and now people see that.”
In the past 18 finals of the MGM Borgata Pacing Series, which was known as the George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series until 2020, only twice was the eventual winner in the back half of the field at the half-mile point. Mossdale Ben N was one of those winners when he rallied from seventh in last year’s championship.
Mossdale Ben N, who had two wins and three seconds in this year’s five preliminary rounds of the Borgata, drew post seven in Friday’s eight-horse Grade 2 final, which will be contested at the distance of 1-1/4 miles rather than the usual one-mile dash around the half-mile oval at Yonkers. Mossdale Ben N, with Marohn in the sulky, is 10-1 on the morning line.
“I like what they did with going the extra quarter of a mile this year,” said Marohn. “People that didn’t draw good spots, in the back of their mind they’re thinking there is another quarter of a mile, things could happen. It’s going to change the complexion of the race one way or another. They’re all good horses, but when you throw that extra quarter of a mile on, it’s different. Not every horse handles it the same.
“Our post position isn’t the best, but it could change right off the bat, and [Mossdale Ben N’s] versatility is an attribute.”
Another attribute has been Mossdale Ben N’s ability to remain on an even keel from race to race regardless of whether he’s gone to the front or come from off the pace.
“I like that his demeanor has stayed the same,” Marohn said about the son of A Rocknroll Dance-Mossdale Sue. “Nothing has fazed him no matter how we’ve raced him. Sometimes a horse can get aggressive when they’ve had to race hard, but he’s just as calm as he was the week before and he races just as good. He’s just a total professional, and Pete has done an amazing job keeping him sharp for every single start so far.”
Since arriving in North America, Mossdale Ben N has hit the board in 21 of 31 races, winning 13 and earning $840,313 for owner PJT Investments of Madison, Connecticut. He heads to the Borgata final off a second-place finish behind Huntinthelastdolar on April 27, when he missed by a nose despite a :26.4 last quarter. He is one of only two horses in the final field to have posted a sub-:27 last quarter in the series.
“That’s one heck of a last quarter on that racetrack,” said Marohn. “You don’t see that a lot at Yonkers at all.”
Coaches Corner, who had two wins and a second in four preliminary starts in the Borgata, is the 9-5 morning line favourite after drawing post one. Jason Bartlett will drive the six-year-old gelding for trainer Per Engblom. Donegal Luther N, who had three wins and a third in four prelim starts, is the 3-1 second choice and will leave from post three with Yannick Gingras driving for trainer Jared Bako.
Friday’s card also features the $456,000 USD MGM Ursula McIntyre Series championship. Louies Girl N is the 7-5 morning line favourite in the Grade 2 event after winning four of her five preliminary starts and finishing second in the other. She will leave from post two with Bartlett driving for Engblom.
Racing begins at 6:45 p.m. For free Yonkers Raceway past performances from the Standardbred Owners Association of New York, click here.
Also on Friday night, UFC star Charles Oliveira and U.S. Hall of Fame driver Tim Tetrick will compete in a team driving challenge between races four and five, with an approximate post of 8:15 p.m. One team will be comprised of Oliveira, Dan Dube, Yannick Gingras and Pat Lachance, and the other will be Tetrick, Jason Bartlett, Lauren Tritton and Jordan Stratton. The race will be in race bikes and posts will be drawn randomly.
The drivers competing in the challenge, along with Oliveira, will sign autographs by the winner’s circle from 5:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The first 150 guests will receive a free poster, courtesy of MGM, and the first 250 guests will receive a free hat, courtesy of the Standardbred Owners Association of New York.
Oliveira, who won a match race against Tetrick in 2021, drove in his first pari-mutuel race in the U.S. on Tuesday, May 5 at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania. He finished second with Kashed Up A, beaten by a nose.
(USTA)