Purpose Blue Chip broke the Buffalo Raceway track record for three-year-old trotting colts on Wednesday night (June 6), easily taking his $59,100 division of the New York Sire Stakes with a 1:56.2 mile. He snapped the old standard of 1:56.4 set in 2014 by Cash Me Out.
In the other $59,100 leg for sophomore male sidewinders, Don had little issues in putting away five rivals in 1:58.
A precautionary move by trainer-driver Dan Daley may have paved the way for Purpose Blue Chip to score the win and break the track record. "We had a break last time in the EBC finals (Empire Breeders Classic at Vernon Downs), so we put trotting hopples on him as a precaution since this was his first time on a half-mile track." The move worked.
With Troller and Yuge both breaking early in the race, Purpose Blue Chip ($11.00) was handed the front end and eagerly took advantage of it. With splits of :29.3, :59 and 1:28, there was no looking back in the stretch as Purpose Blue Chip rolled to a 1-3/4 length victory over Tito (Marcus Miller). Yuge (Jim Morrill Jr.) regrouped in time to place third.
"He was in cruise control the final quarter of a mile," Daley said of Purpose Blue Chip. "He had plenty of trot left in the end."
Co-owned by Ann-Mari Daley, James Crawford IV, Richard Lombardo and Donald Brenner, it was the first victory in four tries this season for Purpose Blue Chip (Chapter Seven-Munis Blue Chip). The win upped his seasonal earnings to $31,411 and $107,429 lifetime.
In the other division of the Sire Stakes, Don proved to be the best with a solid 1-1/2 length front-stepping victory over Lindsey's Pride. After a minor battle for the lead at the onset of the race, Don never looked back in posting the win.
"He was an absolute professional," driver Jim Morrill Jr. said of Don after the race. "I eased him around the first turn but after that, he knew what I wanted from him before I even asked."
After setting fractions of :29.2, :59.3 and 1:29.1, Don ($3.60) used a :28.3 final panel to hold off any late threats that might have developed. Lindseys Pride (Miller) held on for second with Seven Iron (Ray Fisher Jr.) taking the third place position.
"I just showed him the whip down the backstretch the final time, but otherwise it was just a hand ride," Morrill said.
Co-owned by the Andy Miller Stable LLC and Little E LLC, Don (Credit Winner-Angostura) is trained by Julie Miller. It was the second win in five starts in 2018 for Don, boosting his bankroll this season to $87,613 and $149,698 lifetime.
In the $15,000 Excelsior Series A races for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings, Daley earned a driving and training double as L Dees Courageous ($9.10) took a division in 1:57.4. The other bracket went to Lunar Credit ($7.90), with Scott Zeron steering him to a 1:58.2 decision.
The lone $6,600 Excelsior B Series event went to Time Is Fleeting ($3.60), with Morrill guiding the winner home in 2:01.4.
Morrill and Billy Davis Jr. each completed the evening with three victories.
Racing will resume on Friday night (June 8) with a 10-race program scheduled for 5 p.m.
For more information including the latest news, upcoming promotions, simulcast schedule, race replays, results and entries, go to www.buffaloraceway.com.
(Buffalo Raceway)