Wisdom Tree and Tell Me A Joke both have a victory this season in the New York Sire Stakes for three-year-old pacing fillies, and they appear to be the ones to beat in their respective Wednesday night (June 13) divisions at Buffalo Raceway.
Two compact NYSS fields will kick off the early daily double on the 10-race card. A field of four will tangle in the first leg (worth $56,900), while the second division carries a purse of $58,000 for the five entrants.
Wisdom Tree, who will contest the opener, will head into town having finished first or second in five of her six seasonal starts. A winner of $53,200 already this season, Wisdom Tree (Betterthancheddar-Wisdom) drew the four post for driver Kevin Cummings and has been tabbed as the even-money morning line choice.
Wisdom Tree, trained by Edward Hart, took the $59,100 NYSS bracket at Saratoga Raceway on May 27 by scoring a one-length triumph in 1:52.2. Last week at Tioga Downs, she finished a strong second in 1:50.3, despite having started from the eight post in a $40,600 division of the NYSS.
The main challenger could be Pelican Blue Chip (Rock N Roll Heaven-Feathery Fame), who will get the services of Jim Morrill Jr. from the pylons. She's earned a paycheque in her last two tries in the NYSS and could be primed for a big effort.
The other two in the field include Twin B Peaches (to be driven by Mark MacDonald) and the Ron Burke-trained Betterthangraduate (Matt Kakaley).
Tell Me A Joke (Art Major-Camadian) will headline the second division. She has been installed as the even-money morning line choice from the four spot on the starting grid.
Morrill Jr., who'll be in the bike again with Tell Me A Joke, guided her to a gate-to-wire victory in the NYSS on June 3 at Tioga in 1:53.2, a race in which she turned back Trigger Happy by a length. A winner three times in five appearances this season, Tell Me A Joke has $40,392 in the bank thus far in 2018.
Jewels Forreal, another Burke trainee, drew the three post with Kakaley in the sulky. Last time out (on June 3 at Tioga Downs), Jewels Forreal (So Surreal-Dandys Jewel) made up 10 lengths during the race and finished third, just one and a half lengths behind Tell Me A Joke. With a long stretch at Buffalo Raceway, Jewels Forreal could be a very formidable opponent.
The remainder of the field includes Checkered Past (Mark MacDonald), Ms Cheesman (Scott Zeron) and Liplock (Nicholas Boyd).
The track record for the three-year-old filly pacers is 1:53.3, which was set in 2015 by Mosquito Blue Chip. With five track standards having been either being tied or lowered last week at Buffalo Raceway, it's possible that the record book might have to be updated again.
(Buffalo Raceway)