The glasses are half-full for some and half-empty for others - 40 per cent of the way in.
The third of five preliminary rounds of Yonkers Raceway’s Blue Chip Matchmaker and George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series go this weekend, with four ($40,000 each) and five ($50,000 each) divisions, respectively.
The lone 2-for-2 Matchmaker lass, Apple Bottom Jeans (Corey Callahan, post 1), landed in the opening Matchmaker, carded as Friday night’s fourth race. The six-year-old daughter of Mr Apples enters with four consecutive wins as she tries for a 30th career win.
Feelin Red Hot (George Brennan, post 5) took no prisoners a week ago, an opening-length win after finishing second in her first series starts.
Friday second Matchmaker event (sixth race) is led by Ideal Lifestyle A (Brennan, post 2) and Bettor Joy N (Tim Tetrick, post 6), each with a win and second in a pair of Matchmaker rounds.
The same win-and-a-second resume belongs to Dont Think Twice A (Jason Bartlett, post 3) in the third division (seventh race), where she meets up with Seaswift Joy N (Jim Marohn, Jr., post 5). The latter owns a win and three-move third in her two Matchmaker tries.
Defending Matchmaker champ Shartin N (Tetrick, post 3) looms a short price in the eighth-race final division. After an opening-leg win, the career $1.1 million winner was a tough-trip fourth from an eight-hole a week ago.
Saturday evening’s quintet of Levy legions goes as races 4,5,8,9 and 11.
Rodeo Rock (Andrew McCarthy, post 1), a series two-fer, won the draw in the second grouping, He shares the points lead with Ideal Jimmy (Brent Holland, post 7), who landed into the final foray.
The former, a six-year-old Rock N Roll Heaven gelding, has done his damage from off the pace in both starts, last week prevailing after an elongated, first-up route. Rodeo Rock has won all three of his seasonal starts for owner Royal Wire Products and trainer Robert Cleary.
By contract, ‘Jimmy,’ a six-year-old homebred (D R Van Witzenberg) Western Ideal gelding trained by Erv Miller, has gone down-the-road in both of his series tries. He’s won half of his 2019 starts, including four of his last five efforts.
(With files from Yonkers)