On Tuesday, August 17 at Monticello Raceway, Forty Three won the fastest of eight New York Sire Stakes late closer divisions for juvenile pacing fillies in 1:57:1.
Jimmy Whittemore drove Forty Three, a daughter American Ideal, to her first pari-mutuel win and fifth victory in six lifetime starts.
“We’ve been educating her around the (New York) county fairs and she’s getting better with each start,” said Bookstaver, who flew in from California just to watch his filly compete. “I am really thrilled with her performance today. She looks like the real deal.”
Whittemore also won the first division with Diana Blue Chip, also an American Ideal filly, in 1:59:1.
Two local teamsters, Greg Merton and Bruce Aldrich, Jr., also reined winners in the NYSS late closers. Merton won with Winspirational, an Art Major filly which tripped the timer in 1:59. Aldrich scored with The Filly Princess in a time of 1:58:4
Another Bettors Delight filly, Ride A Cowboy, scored a 2:00:2 triumph for driver Brian Mattison.
Like Whittemore, Jason Bartlett also had a pair of winners in the NYSS late closers. He scored with JK Geronimo in 1:59:1, and then won with Bulletproof Enterprises' Beforethedaystarts in 2:01:3. The former is a daughter of Bettors Delight, while the latter is a Western Terror filly.
The final division saw OK Dynasty, another daughter of Art Major, lead the pack to the finish line in a time of 1:59. But she was disqualified and placed second for running out wide on the final turn—perhaps trying to escape the shadow cast by a light pole—and in the process the judges determined that she impeded the progress of Keystone Iris who finished second. So the order of finish was reversed and William and Jack Heinz’s daughter of Bettors Delight took home first money.
(With files from Monticello)