On Monday night (July 30), Yonkers Raceway will host the New York Sire Stakes’ Bruce Hamilton Pace for three-year-old colts and geldings. Total purses will be $172,000.
Post time for the dozen-race card is 6:50 p.m., and the sire stakes events have been carded Race 7 (purse $85,250) and Race 8 (purse $86,750), respectively. The event again honours the memory of one of the true movers and shakers (not to mention a damn fine fellow) in the state’s harness program.
The opening event for the ‘big boys’ will offer some solid resumes, the haughtiest of which belongs to Springsteen (David Miller, Post 2). The season has been highlighted by a win in the half-million-dollar final of Pocono’s Max Hempt Memorial (in a life-best 1:48.3).
Springsteen will hit town, though, after having faltered while racing first-up in his elim of the Adios. The son of Rock N Roll Heaven is co-owned (as Allard Racing) by (trainer) Rene Allard, Bruce Soulsby, Alan Weisenberg and Kapildeo Singh. He has two wins in six starts ($286,500) thus far in 2018.
Rootin Tootin (Mark MacDonald, Post 6) has plied his craft versus statebreds, as he has recorded sire stakes wins at Saratoga (in a life’s-best 1:52.1). The Roll With Joe colt is co-owned by (trainer) Blake MacIntosh, Stuart McIntosh, Robert MacNeil and Fred Brayford.
Topville Olympian (Brian Sears, Post 5) and Twin B Tuffenuff (George Brennan, Post 7) have both been bridesmaids in their last two statebred sojourns.
Monday night’s second and final division will find the return of Art Rooney Pace winner Trump Nation (Jason Bartlett, Post 2). The son of Betterthancheddar, who wired that $300,000 event in a life-best 1:51.3, will return after sire stakes wins at Buffalo and Saratoga.
For the season, he’s five-for-eight with $238,896 in the till for co-owners Evan Katz and Crawford Racing.
My Delight (Brent Holland, Post 5) authored a 34-1 upset in a $23,066 division of the Reynolds at Yonkers in mid-May, then won (at 14-1) a sire stakes event at Vernon (in a life’s-best 1:49.4). Ostro Hanover (David Miller, Post 7) will be at it off of a 10-1 statebred win at Saratoga.
Rockapelo (Brian Sears, Post 8) has hit the board in six of his eight ‘18 tries, including a win (in a life’s-best 1:50.2) in his $24,000 division of Tioga’s Geers.
(Yonkers Raceway)