At the start of the M Life Rewards Ladies Pacing Series at Yonkers Raceway on March 2, Pettycoat Business had the résumé to be the series favourite on paper.
Unraced at two, the Art Major daughter emerged from a winter break following her three-year-old season in the Brian Brown stable which included placings in a leg of the New York Sire Stakes, two legs and the final of the Kentucky Sire Stakes, the $107,320 Adio Volo at the Meadows, the $120,000 Courageous Lady at Northfield Park, and a victory in an elimination of the Empire Breeders Classic. Pettycoat Business also made the final of the Breeders Crown for three-year-old pacing fillies.
Although she earned $125,673 last year, Pettycoat Business only won three races, making her a perfect fit for the M Life Ladies Pacing Series for three-year-old fillies and four-year-old mares who had not won four pari-mutuel races or $50,000 as of Dec. 1, 2020. The ownership group of Michael Robinson, Robert Mondillo, RBH Ventures, Inc. and Gilbilly Stable sent Pettycoat Business to Scott DiDomenico.
“The ownership sent her up here with the thought of her being pretty good for this series. Fortunately, I got the call for that,” DiDomenico said. “She’s a nice mare. I got her to train just out of the winter break. We trained her back. I’ve been training horses for the majority ownership of her for a while now. They’re good to me and gave me an opportunity with her.”
Pettycoat Business qualified a winner at Dover Downs on Feb. 1 before making her Yonkers debut on Feb. 24 in a $14,000 overnight. She was welcomed with post eight and, despite the daunting position, made the lead in a :27.2 opening quarter and led the field through fractions of :56 and 1:24.1 before pacing home in :30.1 to finish second, beaten by Paiges Girl.
“She’s a big, strong mare. We qualified her down at Dover; she had a nice qualifier. Brought her up to Yonkers the first week. She had the eight-hole and we had her closed off, had a blind bridle on her, and she was really, really aggressive. She set some hot fractions that night just because she was pretty wild,” DiDomenico explained.
“We made some equipment changes to her out of that start. Since then, she’s been pretty professional and done what George (Brennan) has asked of her.”
Pettycoat Business set the pace, but finished third in the series first leg, scored an off-the-pace win in the second leg, and powered away from the field for a four-length victory in 1:54.1 in the final preliminary leg on March 16 to earn a place in the $57,800 series final Tuesday night (March 23).
Pettycoat Business drew post one in the final and will have regular driver George Brennan in the sulky. The pair are 8-5 on the morning line. The reinsman had his choice of Pettycoat Business and Turnthefrownaround, a four-year-old Roll With Joe daughter trained by Ron Burke who went a perfect three-for-three in the series preliminaries, all with Brennan in the sulky. Turnthefrownaround will start from post two in the final in her face-off with Pettycoat Business, and Joe Bongiorno will take over the assignment. She is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line.
Paiges Girl only started in two of the three series preliminary legs, but took both of them in gate-to-wire fashion. The Lance Hudson trainee drew post five in the final and is 5-1 on the morning line with Scott Zeron in the bike. Flirty Forty, Sound Idea, Ready Set Rock, Dragon Roll and Avaya Hanover complete the lineup.
“I like that I have the rail and I like that I have George Brennan,” DiDomenico said. “You can’t take anything away from those other mares, too. They’ve done a really good job through the first few weeks of it. It’s a horse race and anything can happen.”
Yonkers Raceway features live harness racing Monday through Friday with a first post time of 7:15 p.m.
(SOA of New York)