American Fling set the Buffalo Raceway track record for the two-year-old gelding pacers on Wednesday afternoon (July 13) by winning the $104,400 New York Sire Stakes for the freshmen in 1:55.1 over the fast track. He beat Its A Me Mario again for the third consecutive race, this time by a length.
The old mark for the geldings was 1:56.1 established on June 30, 2021 by Pickup Man Hanover.
It appeared that American Fling ($2.80) was going to cut the early fractions but Bandito Joe (Matt Kakaley) bolted to the top and put up splits of :28.2, :57 and 1:26.3. Those proved to be a little ambitious in the long run as American Fling (Jim Morrill Jr.) tipped out from the pocket and brought along Its A Me Mario (Lauren Tritton) heading into the stretch.
Down the lane, American Fling wasn't going to be denied. A :28.2 final quarter mile erased any hopes of Its A Me Mario, who had to settle for another second-place finish in the Sire Stakes competition. Bandito Joe hung on for the third place cheque.
Co-owned by Randall Bendis, Reed Broadway and Pollack Racing LLC, American Fling (American Ideal-Feeling You) is now a perfect three-for-three in the NYSS races. He is conditioned by Edward Hart and the victory zoomed American Fling's bankroll to $104,575 on the season.
Human Cocktail ($4.20) put up steady fractions then used a :28.3 last panel to seal the 1-3/4-length decision over Hunting Zone in the $15,000 Excelsior A race. Driven by Morrill Jr. and trained by Gareth Dowse, Human Cocktail (Huntsville-Lotsa Matzah) is owned by Stephen Demeter.
Wasnt Me (Kyle Cummings) made it a perfect three-for-three in the $6,600 Excelsior B Series by going gate to wire in 1:58.4, beating Universe Blue Chip (Kevin Cummings) by five lengths. Co-owned by trainer Jim Graham, Tim Warner, Ed Peron and Paul Tandlmayer, Wasnt Me (American Ideal-Miss Innocent) returned $2.30 for the win.
Buffalo Raceway's 2022 Driver of the Meet, Morrill Jr., didn't rest on his laurels as he produced a five-bagger during the afternoon. Trainer Samuel Smith had two victories.
The final two cards of the 2022 season will take place on Friday and Saturday afternoons with 10-race programs to commence each day at 1:30 p.m. The simulcast center will close after the action on Sunday afternoon.
(Buffalo Raceway)