Archangel, who won July's $445,594 Yonkers Trot in world-record fashion, returns to Westchester Tuesday night.
He does so as the marquee attraction in the $331,270 New York Sire Stakes Dick McGuire Trot for three-year-old colts and geldings. Post time for the 12-race card is the usual 7:10 p.m., with the trio of statebred soirees going as races four, six and seven. The event pays tribute to the long-time New York Knick player and coach and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, who also just happened to be an avid horseplayer.
Archangel drew post position No. 2 in the $111,090 second division, where he looms a shorter price than his 3-5 early line. Jim Morrill Jr. reprises his role behind the son of Credit Winner, who is co-owned by (trainer) Peter Arrigenna, Alan Hainsworth and Clare Semer.
Archangel's 1:54.1, wire-to-wire Trot victory was a world record for his age group over a half-mile oval and a stakes record for a Yonkers Trot held at the track. It also matched the local all-aged track record for trotters (Blacktuxwhitesocks). It's the highlight of a season which includes eight wins and two seconds in a dozen starts and $625,954 in purse earnings.
Along the way, there have been sire stakes wins at Saratoga, Buffalo and Tioga, along with the $233,250 final of the Empire Breeders Classic (Vernon).
Tuesday's first $109,090 NYSS event finds a pair of six-figure seasonal performers in Gaelic And Garlic (Morrill Jr., post two) and Coraggioso (Brian Sears, post three). The former, a Credit Winner gelding, was a statebred winner at Monticello two starts ago. The latter, a son of Conway Hall, has won five times (including his lone Yonkers appearance) in 11 '12 tries. Gaelic And Garlic is trained by Ed Hart for co-owners Bernard White and Kristie Leigh Farm, while Coraggioso is trained by Gates Brunet for co-owners Joe Spadaro and Tom Durkin.
The evening's final $111,090 features Trouble (Andy Miller, post two) and Brookroad Knight (Jeff Gregory, post six). Each has four wins this season, with 'Brookroad' ($164,946 earnings of in 2012) handily defeating Trouble ($183,772 in seasonal cash) in a July statebred event at Yonkers.
(With files from Yonkers Raceway)