New York Sires Stakes standouts Royal Shyster and Lawgiver Hanover produced the fastest divisional scores during Thursday night’s $171,820 New York State Fair racing program at Vernon Downs.
Royal Shyster ($2.40) recorded a career-best 1:58.1 victory in the fourth division of Thursday’s $83,688 NYSS-sponsored contest for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings, while Lawgiver Hanover ($11.60) equaled his 1:53 record with a feisty first-place finish in the third flight of an $88,132 battle among New York-bred freshman male pacers.
With trainer Dan Daley driving for owners Ann-Mari Daley (Dan’s wife), Albert C. Crawford, Richard Lombardo and Robert Pergament, Royal Shyster powered to a convincing tally in Thursday’s eighth event, which improved his fledgling record to four wins and two second-place finishes in six career starts. Three of his scores have come in NYSS action, while the other was a first-place finish in the Tompkin-Geers Stakes at Tioga Downs on July 14. The son of RC Royalty--Spin The Planet is now a winner of $54,437.
With Jim Morrill, Jr. teaming for trainer Mark Harder, Lawgiver Hanover, a son of Art Major--Lauren Order, hustled to a front-end, three-quarters-of-a-length triumph in Thursday’s ninth race, which advanced his record to three wins and a second in four outings for owners Rick Phillips, Deena Rachel Frost and the W Springtime Racing Stable. In addition to a pair of NYSS scores, the career winner of nearly $36,000 secured his record in the Tompkin-Geers Stakes at Tioga on July 17.
Thursday’s other NYSF divisional winners in the trotting test were Credicity, in 1:59.2 for Wanda Polisseni’s Purple Haze Stables; Coraggioso, in 1:59.4 for owners Joe Spadaro and legendary announcer Tom Durkin, and Archangel, in 1:59.4 for trainer/part-owner Peter Arrigenna and his partners Clare Semer and Alan Hainsworth.
Thursday’s NYSF triumphs on the pace were by Forever Just, in 1:54.2, which lifted his record to four wins (one in the Geers and three in NYSS action) and a second in five official appearances for Fred Wallace and the Stake Your Claim Stable; Raymond J, in 1:54.4 for local owner Ken Jacobs, and Glass Prince, in 1:55.1 for the Stake Your Claim Stable, which improved his 2011 chart to three NYSS tallies, a second-place finish and a third in five starts.
Driver Tim Tetrick notched four wins during Thursday’s 12-race card. Linda Toscano earned three training credits, while Morrill posted a driving double.
Newcomer Sold Out (part-owner and trainer Pat Lachance teaming for the Z Tam Stables), captured the week’s $10,000 Open for female pacers with a life’s best 1:54.3 performance in Race 7.
(Vernon Downs)