Ake Svanstedt drove a pair of Chapter Seven colts from his barn -- Cecil Hanover and Kierkegaard K -- to victories in the two New York Sire Stakes divisions for sophomore trotters on Thursday night (Aug. 10) at MGM Yonkers Raceway.
Cecil Hanover made it look easy in the first $82,500 grouping as he went to the lead from post four, opened up a gap on his foes through fractions of :28.4, :58.1 and 1:26.3, and cruised to a 4-1/2 length victory in 1:55 flat. Onion Gum (Jordan Stratton) held second from the pocket over a closing Wild Bill Kelso (Scott Zeron).
Svanstedt also co-owns Cecil Hanover, who was bred by Hanover Shoe Farms, with partners S R F Stable, Midnight Sun Partners Inc., and Jorgen Sparredal Inc. This was his fourth career win and he has now earned $270,955.
He paid $2.80 to win as the 2-5 favourite and led a $6.30 exacta and an $11 trifecta.
In the second $84,000 split Chapercraz (Joe Bongiorno) went to the top from the pole position and was in front at the :28.1 quarter, :57.3 half and 1:26 three-quarters. Meanwhile, Kierkegaard K and Svanstedt settled in the fourth spot from post six and began a first-over bid on the third turn that carried him into second on the final bend.
Kierkegaard K, who won an MGM Yonkers Trot elimination earlier this year, sustained his two-wide charge through the stretch, wore down and got by Chapercraz, and then held off Crown (Brian Sears), who found room on the inside from the pocket, to score by a neck in 1:54.4. Chapercraz faded to third.
A Knutsson Trotting Inc.-homebred, Kierkegaard K has compiled a record of 5-2-4 from 16 tries and has now pocketed $320,999.
He returned $8 to win as the 3-1 second choice. The exacta was worth $48.20 and the trifecta kicked back $69.50.
There were also two $20,000 New York Excelsior "A" Series races held as non-betting events prior to the pari-mutuel card. Winning those contests were Kingpin Hanover (by E L Titan and bred by Hanover Shoe Farms) in 1:57.2 for driver Jim Pantaleano, trainer Jody Riedel and owner Super Mile LLC, and Seven Over (by Chapter Seven and bred by Crawford Farms) in 1:55.2 for driver Jason Bartlett, trainer Per Engblom and owners VIP Internet Stable LLc., Rich Preziotti, Heritage Standardbreds and Timothy Drag.
The New York Sire Stakes circuit returns to MGM Yonkers Raceway next Tuesday (Aug. 15) with two dashes for three-year-old filly trotters.
In the $15,000 North American Amateur Drivers Association (NAADA) Summer Series Final on Thursday night, Tony Ciuffetelli perched Reel Em In in a striking spot to land a decisive blow on his competition and deliver as the even-money favourite.
Call Me Thefireman (Anthony Verruso) shot off the wings to take control while Turbochargedpete (Joe Faraldo) protected pylon position and Lionhead (Robert Krivelin) ventured forward with nowhere to settle to a :28.2 first quarter. Lionhead, stuck uncovered on the rim, stayed at Call Me Thefireman’s side through the lane the first time as Ciuffetelli pulled Reel Em In out from fourth to grab cover to a :58.4 half.
The overland journey tired Lionhead and prompted Ciuffetelli to send Reel Em In three high up the backside. Call Me Thefireman, meanwhile, clung to a diminishing lead through three-quarters in 1:29.1 and fought all through the final turn to stave Reel Em In to no avail. Reel Em In barrelled for home and widened his lead through the stretch to click past the beam three lengths better than Call Me Thefireman in a 1:59 mile. Turbochargedpete held third and Fair Glider (Robert Ciavardini) skimmed the pylons to take fourth.
Robert Dill trains Reel Em In, a six-year-old gelding by Crazed, for owner Anthony Mazzeo. He paid $4.20 to win.
MGM Yonkers Raceway currently hosts live racing on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights with post time at 7 p.m. (EDT).
(With files from Yonkers Raceway and NAADA)