On Tuesday (September 19), Monticello Raceway hosted its eighth and final leg of the 2017 New York Sire Stakes Season with two-year-old pacing fillies in action.
The first of two A level Sire Stakes events of the afternoon was a six-horse field that competed for a purse of $53,500. Betting favourite KJs Bekah (Jason Bartlett) made a nasty break in the middle of the first turn and went to her knees. Jim Morrill Jr. took advantage of the miscue with the improving Wisdom Tree and reeled off fractions of :28.2, :58.2 and 1:27.4 before tripping the beam in 1:55.2 to score a no-nonsense win by two lengths over longshot Sand Artist (Jim Marohn Jr.) and Mink Pink (Matt Kakaley).
Wisdom Tree (Betterthancheddar – Wisdom) is trained by Ed Hart and is owned by Thomas Pollack and Jeff Cullipher. The win was her first lifetime, and in the process she returned $6.50 to her faithful supporters.
In typical Jim Morrill Jr. fashion, he sent the 4-5 favourite Alexis Faith down the road from the rail and played catch me if you can in the final NYSS event of the afternoon. That duo led the field to the first stanza in a brisk :27 and continued to show the way to the half in :56.1. Down the backside former Monticello regular Jim Marohn Jr. had Azreal As It Gets in perfect striking position first over. Alexis Faith was still on top as the field sped through three quarters in 1:25.2, and at this point it looked like the track record of 1:55 was in serious jeopardy.
Marohn Jr and Azreal As It Gets continued to grind down pace setter Alexis Faith who tired late in the lane to prevail in 1:55.2 by a slim margin, with the win time two ticks off the track record of 1:55 set by Planet Rock last year. Hurrikane Shorty (Jason Bartlett) redeemed herself after being off her grain in a dull performance last week to finish a game second with pacesetter Alexis Faith third. The win was Azreal As It Gets' second consecutive win after her win last week at Batavia Downs for trainer Jake Huff. The So Surreal – Vanite Semalu filly is owned by Our Horse Cents Stable and Stable 45.
Jim Morrill Jr. had three wins on the afternoon, Bruce Aldrich Jr. took both divisions of Excelsior B’s, leaving him just five wins shy of 7,000 in his career. Leading Monticello Raceway driver Jim DeVaux had one win on the card; he needs 27 more wins to become a member of the 5,000 club.
Excelsior A - $15,000
Majorette Angie - 1:57.2 - $8.60 - Jim Morrill Jr.
Checkered Past - 1:58 - $6.60 - Jim Morrill Jr.
Jericho Diva - 1:57.3 - $9.30 - Jim DeVaux
Excelsior B - $6,500
Heavens Diva - 2:00.4 - $2.10 - Bruce Aldrich
With Wings - 1:59.1 - $3.50 - Bruce Aldrich
(Monticello)