Owner Leonard Segall and trainer James Clouser Jr. must have told drivers Kevin Cummings and Jack Flanigen to put the pedal to the metal off the gate in the $10,500 Open and $9,500 Open II paces.
Their charges, Youwillwishyouhad and Big Bossman, each used quick starts to waltz to gate-to-wire victories in sweeping the early Daily Double at Buffalo Raceway on Saturday night (July 18).
Youwillwishyouhad ($4.70) found little trouble wiring the field in the Open with a 1:55.2 clocking while Big Bossman ($2.80) was totally in charge of the Open II with an impressive 1:54.3 journey over the fast Hamburg half-mile oval. The chalky triumphs returned $8.20 on a $2 early double wager.
After suffering a disappointing nose loss in last week's Open Pace, Cummings put Youwillwishyouhad right to the lead and dared the remaining field of five to track him down. Instead they ended up battling for minor spoils.
With fractions of :27.4, :56.3 and 1:25.4, there were no serious takers in the stretch as Youwillwishyouhad cruised home to a three-quarter length decision over Western Alumni (Jim McNeight) while Rockstar Temper (Monti) closed fast to take third.
The victory was the ninth in 19 outings for the four-year-old gelded Youwillwishyouhad (Artiscape-Dawns Ideal). He has now put $51,048 in the bank in 2015 and $117,445 lifetime.
The heavily favoured Big Bossman was certainly the boss in the Open II.
With Flanigen in the sulky, there was no resistance in reaching for the lead for Big Bossman at the start and that resulted in big trouble for the remaining five entrants. With splits of :28.1, :57 and 1:26.1, Big Bossman was never threatened seriously in the half-length score over Mister Icon (McNeight). I C D Moolah (Ron Beback Jr.) placed third.
The win was the third in a row for Big Bossman (Feelin Friskie-Lovely American) and his fourth in his last five appearances. The four-year-old gelding has earned $25,068 this season and $97,615 in his career.
The third race was a wild one to say the least as the three longest shots on the board took the top three positions. Ponyta Boy (Beback Jr.) turned in a lifetime-best time of 1:55.2 and returned $51.50 in the upset win while Veto Hanover (60-1) finished second and American Bull (90-1) took the show spot. The $1 exacta paid $568 and the $1 trifecta was worth $2128.50.
Racing returns on Sunday afternoon with a 12-race program set for 1:05 p.m. The New York Sire Stakes will highlight the card with a pair of $51,900 races scheduled for the three-year-old colt and gelding trotters.
(Buffalo Raceway)