Millionaire Giddy Up Lucky (Dan Dube) was wide early but talented all the way through Saturday night, winning Yonkers Raceway's $52,000 Open Handicap Pace
.
Starting outside his six rivals (in one notch after Real Nice was a judges' defection), Giddy Up Lucky was uncharacteristically put in play early. Getting some encouragement from his chauffeur, 7-10 favourite "Lucky" worked around pole-sitter Shooebees Place (George Brennan) well after a :26.4 opening quarter-mile.
Giddy Up Lucky then rated a :55.4 half before Clear Vision (Cat Manzi)--from last--came looking for him. A 1:23.3 three-quarters afforded him a two-length lead into the lane. Giddy Up Lucky found the mile marker in 1:50.4 before finishing the mile-and-one-sixteenth in 1:57.2, one-fifth off of his own, all-age track record for the distance. Clear Vision earned double-bonus points for a tough-trip second--beaten a length-and-a-half--with Shoobees Place, Urgent Action (Jim Pantaleano) and Power Of A Moment (Brent Holland) completing the cashers.
For Giddy Up Lucky, a six-year-old Camluck gelding co-owned by Baron Racing and VIP Internet Stables and trained by Josh Green, he returned $3.40 for his seventh win in 18 seasonal starts (2011 earnings now over a half-million). The exacta paid $16.80, with the triple returning $111.50.
(Yonkers Raceway)