Semi Tough dominated his rivals in the $60,000 M Life Rewards Gents Series Final, leading all the way through blistering fractions of :26.3, :54.4, 1:21.4 and stopping the clock in a lifetime best 1:50, just two-fifths of a second off the track record.
Semi Tough is a four-year-old gelding trained by Ron Burke and driven to victory by George Brennan. Semi Tough had made two recent starts in the Graduate series and has now earned more than $540,000 lifetime.
Yonkers Raceway wrapped up two stakes finals Monday night which saw more than four months pass between preliminary legs and finals.
The M Life Rewards Ladies and Gents Series began in the first week of March but were interrupted when racing was halted for three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Top performers from the legs that were held in March qualified for the $60,000 finals.
In the M life Rewards Ladies Final, Im Very Special blasted to the lead from post position eight and never looked back, winning by two and a half lengths in 1:52.2. North Star Ideal finished second and Red River Jane was five lengths back in third.
Im Very Special notched her fourth win of the season for trainer Peter Pellegrino and owners Melvyn Colby of Great Neck, New York. Jason Bartlett was the winning driver.
Racing resumes Tuesday night at Yonkers Raceway with three $48,866 divisions of New York Sire Stakes for two-year-old trotting fillies with first post at 7:12 p.m.
(Yonkers)