Odds-on favourite Guardian Angel As dusted the competition from first-over Sunday, Aug. 12, winning Yonkers Raceway’s featured $44,000 Open Handicap Trot.
The weekly trotting feature went at the flat mile directly after the four mile-and-a-quarter ‘French’ races.
Away fifth from post position four, the people’s preference watched as lass NF Happenstance made the first lead. She then gave way to Mosinterestingman at the :27:1 opening quarter-mile. Mosinterestingman trotted a :56.3 intermission as Guardian Angel As was out and moving. He engaged the leader in earnest by the 1:25.2 three-quarters, putting him away early in the lane.
Guardian Angel AS widened the margin to two-and-three-quarter lengths in 1:53.4, a track record for his weight class. Mosinterestingman held second with In Secret, Homicide Hunter and NF Happenstance rounding out the payees.
For Guardian Angel AS, a four-year-old son of Archangel co-owned by ACL Stuteri AB & Kjell Johansson and trained by Anette Lorentzon, it was his fifth win in six starts this season. Driven by Jason Bartlett, he paid $3.60 to win. The exacta paid $16.20, the triple returned $68.50 and the superfecta paid $164.50.
Sunday’s incarnation of the ‘New York, New York Double’ featured a winning combination of 4-Take Notice (Saratoga’s 1st race) and 1–Kennel Buddy (Yonkers’ 3rd race), returning $12.70 for every correct $1 ticket. Total pool was $6,867.
The next Sunday matinee is Aug. 19 (post time TBA).
(With files from Yonkers Raceway)