Funny thing about Six Pack. Whenever he’s invaded Yonkers Raceway, the result is not a fair fight. Such was the case again Saturday night (Aug. 10), when Six Pack drilled seven outclassed foes in the co-featured $46,000 Open Handicap Trot.
Making short work from an assigned eight-hole, Six Pack left around Eye Ofa Tiger As, then made even shorter work of the teletimer. Never threatened at any point, he widened his margin through a clip of :28, :57.2 and 1:25.
Six Pack hit the finish in 1:53.1, matching the all-age trotting track record set by stablemate Plunge Blue Chip last September while also lowering the standard for aged trotting horses. The Ake Svanstedt trained-and-driven son of Muscle Mass finished six-and-a-quarter lengths ahead of second-place finisher Lord Cromwell.
For the record, New Heaven was third, with Eye Ofa Tiger As and Such An Angel settling for the small change.
Six Pack, a four-year-old $1.5 million statebred co-owned by his driver-trainer, Little E LLC, Knuttson Trotting, Stall Kalmer and Lars Berg, it was his second win in seven seasonal starts (career 17-for-30). He paid $2.70 to win. The exacta paid $28.80, the triple returned $173 and the superfecta paid $1,122.
Not lost on Svanstedt was throwing down a gauntlet in the hopes of getting an invitation to October’s million-dollar International Trot.
“We wanted to see him back on a short track and he handled it well,” Svanstedt said. “He’s not been lucky in a many of his races this season. That’s the biggest difference in him as a 4-year-old.
“The owners wanted to enter him (tonight). We’re hoping he’s asked to race in the International.”
The weekly $46,000 adult-table pace was won by a down-the-road Scott Rocks in 1:51.3. The nine-year-old Rocknroll Hanover gelding went up and over $995,000 in career earnings after a 57th win. Eric Goodell drove the $4.80 winner.
For his part, Goodell won four of the night’s last seven races.
(Yonkers Raceway)