E Street was on easy street in Buffalo Raceway's $16,712 Open II Trot on Saturday night (June 1), as he bounced to a half-length victory over Topolino in 1:58.3 over the fast track.
In the co-featured $16,712 Open II Pace, Handsoffmytitos got a perfect pocket journey from driver Jim Morrill Jr. and beat the pacesetting Villiam by a length in a season-best 1:54.1.
E Street ($9.10) was involved in a three-way skirmish for the early edge with Topolino and All About Thechase. When things sorted themselves out, E Street found himself on the lead and put up fractions of :29, :59.2 and 1:28.4.
A wall of horses assembled behind E Street (John Cummings Jr.) hitting the final turn. Both Topolino (Morrill) and Valentine Express (Drew Monti) were within striking distance. But E Street held his ground down the lane and managed to hold off the challenges of Topolino and Valentine Express, who finished second and third, respectively.
Owned by Tarja Butcher and conditioned by Rachelle Mungillo, the six-year-old gelded E Street (Conway Hall-Highway Cash) has four victories in 13 tries. The win upped his seasonal earnings to $45,444 and lifetime earnings to $162,684.
In the co-main event, Handsoffmytitos played hardball early with Villiam, parking him for nearly a quarter mile. That may have taken just enough starch out of Villiam in the long run.
Villiam (Joseph Chindano Jr.) got to the lead, setting the tempo with splits of :28.3, :57 and 1:25.4. Handsoffmytitos drafted along nicely in second. Handsoffmytitos found Villiam to be a tough customer in the stretch, but was finally able to take over to notch the victory. Trente Deo rallied for the show spot.
The win was the fourth in 15 appearances this year for the five-year-old gelded Handsoffmytitos (American Ideal-Sage N), who is owned by Michael Torcello and trained by Sam Smith. The victory improved his bankroll to $48,374 for 2024 and to $113,797 for his career.
Egomania took his third straight victory in the third leg of the Spring Up Series, winning by five lengths in 1:54.1. The series is for pacers that were non-winners of $20,548 (fillies and mares $24,658) in 2024 and had at least 10 starts this year as of May 13. Driven by Kevin Cummings, Egomania returned $2.60 in the easy victory.
In the second division, A Game Changer (Drew Monti) nipped stablemate Smart Talker by a head in 1:56.3. The winner returned $3.70 to his faithful followers.
Buffalo Raceway features a 15-race card set on Wednesday afternoon starting at 2:30 p.m. The New York Sire Stakes makes its first appearance of the 2024 campaign, as a pair of $78,767 (approx.) events for the three-year-old colts and gelding pacers will be contested. There will also be three $27,397 races in the Excelsior Series, along with two divisions of the Spring Up Series and the $19,178 Class A-Open Pace for the ladies.
(Buffalo Raceway)