Groovy Joe ($8.40) stamped himself as one of the top two-year-old male pacers on the New York Sire Stakes circuit on Wednesday night (July 10) as he rolled to a dominating 5-1/4 length triumph over the highly-touted Sandys Bolt in 1:54.3 at Buffalo Raceway.
It was the third consecutive win for Groovy Joe in the New York Sire Stakes. He just missed the two-year-old colt track record of 1:54.2 in capturing the first $52,000 division.
In what was expected to be an early career showdown between the two undefeated colts, Groovy Joe got the upper hand over Sandys Bolt in their first meeting.
"He's good on a half-mile track," winning driver Matt Kakaley said of Groovy Joe (Roll With Joe-Chotat Milk). "He's just a very nice colt."
Setting hot fractions of :27.4, :57.1 and 1:26.3, Groovy Joe braced for a move from the pocket-sitting Sandy's Bolt (Jason Bartlett) with a final panel to race, but that never materialized. Groovy Joe instead unleashed a final mark of :28, which dashed Sandys Bolt's hopes. Major Asset (Mike Simons) took third.
"I wasn't worried the last quarter mile," Kakaley said. "I knew he (Groovy Joe) was that good."
Co-owned by trainer Blake MacIntosh and the Hutt Racing Stable, Groovy Joe is now a perfect three-for-three with $58,925 in earnings thus far.
In the second division, Oreo Dream Xtreme ($3.40) used the long Buffalo Raceway stretch to his advantage and rallied past the pace-setting Teton Sunset in 1:57.1.
Oreo Dream Xtreme (Bartlett) let Teton Sunset (Mark MacDonald) do all the dirty work on the front end, then cruised on past in the lane to take the victory. Major On The Beach (Kakaley) grabbed the show position.
"The race went as planned," Bartlett said of the journey with Oreo Dream Xtreme. "He was a little steppy around the final turn but once he straightened out, I wasn't worried."
Teton Sunset put up reasonable fractions of :29.1, :59 and 1:28.4, but couldn't answer the bell when Oreo Dream Xtreme roared on by in the lane.
Co-owned by Crawford Farms Racing, James Crawford, Happy Hour Racing and Richard Preziotti, it was the first career win for Oreo Dream Xtreme (American Ideal-Spotlight On). The decision upped his season earnings to $38,842.
In the two $15,000 Excelsior A events, American Mojo blew up the tote board with a $62.00 win for driver Kevin Cummings in 2:01.4, while Sunsetboozecruise ($2.80) covered the mile in 1:56.1 for Jim Morrill Jr.
Redemptionbluechip (Bartlett) captured the $6,500 Excelsior B race in 1:59 and returned $2.80.
Cummings finished the program with three victories while Ray Fisher Jr. and Bartlett each had doubles. Trainers Ryan Swift and John Butenschoen conditioned two winners.
Racing will resume on Friday evening (July 12) at 5 p.m. with an 11-race program set. There is a $1533 carryover in the Pick-5, which begins in the second race.
For more information, including the latest news, race replays, results, entries, upcoming promotions and simulcast schedule, go to www.buffaloraceway.com.
(Buffalo Raceway)