Yonkers Raceway hosted the ladies Monday night, specifically the New York Sire Stakes Art Watson Pace for three-year-old fillies.
Three divisions, at $55,125, $56,125 and $55,125, comprised the event.
Band Of Angels (Yannick Gingras, $2.80) won both the draw and the endorsement of the electorate, holding sway (:28.3, :57.3, 1:25.4, 1:54.3) in the opening event. She defeated pocket-sitting Bettorhaveanother (Jim Morrill Jr.) by a half-length, with Divine Caroline (Dave Miller) third.
For Band Of Angels, a daughter of Rock N Roll Heaven owned by W.J. Donovan and trained by Ron Burke, it was her second (NYSS) win in four seasonal starts. The exacta paid $6.90, with the triple (three wagering favourites in order) returning $15.40.
The seven-horse field nearly finished in odds-ascending order, had 27-1 My Little Delight (sixth) been able to get past 37-1 Bossers Joy for fifth.
It was essentially the same MO in the second division, as pole-sitting, odds-on fave Not Before Eight (Scott Zeron, $3.50) was a handy victress.
Away third early, she worked around last season’s frosh champ, Mosquito Blue Chip (Morrill Jr.), after a :27.4 opening quarter-mile. She then led the lasses for the remainder (:57.2, 1:27, 1:55.1), swatting “Mosquito” by a length and a half. First leader Luck Be A Lindy (Mark MacDonald) was third.
For Not Before Eight, a Bettors Delight miss (unraced at two) trained by Steve Elliott for owner Ernest Hartman, she’s six-for-nine this season and a perfect six-for-six at Yonkers (first five wins in overnight). The exacta (two choices in order) paid $5.90, with the triple returning $17.40.
Zeron and Elliott doubled their sire stakes pleasure in the final NYSS event when Rock Me Gently ($35.20) — from post position No. 6 — rallied from third over. They did so after a front-end battle between 7-10 fave Bettor N Better (Gingras), Shes Heavenly (George Brennan) and a first-up Hipnumberone (Greg Merton).
Those three prompted the pace (:27.1, :55.4, 1:24.4), setting it up for someone to pick ‘em off. It was Rock Me Gently and 46-1 rank outsider Nippy W Hanover (John Campbell) closing from the back in a pedestrian (:30.1) final quarter, with the former whipping the latter by a length. Third went to Heavenly Bride (Brian Sears).
For sixth choice Rock Me Gently, a daughter of Rock N Roll Heaven co-owned by Old Block Stables, Fra Stable and Kenneth Klein, it was her third win in six seasonal starts. The exacta paid $786, with the triple returning $2,551.
The Raceway’s five-program-per-week schedule is now back in vogue, with first post every Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:10 p.m., with Tuesday matinees at 1 p.m. (a “French-centric” Tuesday this week). Evening simulcasting accompanies all nighttime programs, with afternoon simulcasting available daily.
(Yonkers Raceway)