There's not a lot of experience in the two divisions of the New York Sire Stakes for the three-year-old colt and gelding trotters that will invade Buffalo Raceway on Wednesday night (June 6), but it will be a chance for the ‘fellas to kickstart their careers and get a nice paycheque.
There is a pair of races that will feature just six competitors in each event, both worth $59,100. The sophomores involved have an average of 11 starts between them in their young careers, combining for 19 victories total.
In the first division, slated for the second race, Seven Iron has been installed as the 2-1 early choice with Ray Fisher Jr. scheduled to drive.
Seven Iron (Chapter Seven-Beyond Blue), is a three-year-old colt that is owned by Ken Jacobs and trained by Linda Toscano. He was in the money 11 of 13 tries last season and put $157,931 in the bank. He finished a strong third in the sire stakes at Vernon Downs on May 11, losing by a half length in 1:54.3 to Don. Then, on May 18 at Vernon, Seven Iron, who'll start from the four post, captured an elimination of the Empire Breeders Classic at Vernon in 1:54.2. Things didn't go well, however, in the EBC final for Seven Iron, as he finished in seventh place, more than 12 lengths in arrears of the winner, Six Pack.
Don (Credit Winner-Angostura) is also in the field and will start from the five hole with Jim Morrill Jr. in the bike. Tabbed at 3-1 on the morning line, the colt had an impressive second-place finish in the $133,800 Dexter Cup at Freehold Raceway on May 5 in 1:56.2, and took second place in the $24,852 EBC consolation at Vernon in his last outing on May 28.
The remainder of the first division includes Lindseys Pride (to be driven by Marcus Miller), Credicone (Trond Smedshammer), Got No Money Honey (Drew Monti) and Clive Bigsby (Scott Zeron).
The second division is scheduled for the fourth race and will feature Perlucky, owned by the Purple Haze Stables of nearby Fairport, N.Y. and trained by Smedhammer. The colt is the morning line 2-1 pick with Smedshammer scheduled to take the reins starting from the four post.
Perlucky (Lucky Chucky-Paper) should love the long stretch at Buffalo Raceway, as he's shown a willingness to gobble up ground late in his two previous outings. While not winning, Perlucky made up 13 lengths in a second-place finish in the $133,800 Dexter Cup at Freehold on May 5, then closed eight and a quarter lengths to take third in the NYSS at Vernon on May 11.
Yuge (Muscle Max-Miss Fidget) is the second choice at 3-1 with Morrill Jr. slated to hop in the bike. The gelding will arrive fresh off of a length victory in a $15,000 conditioned event at Pocono Downs on May 29 in 1:54.1.
The rest of the field includes Purpose Blue Chip (Dan Daley), Tito (Miller), Troller (Monti) and Handsome Devil (Zeron).
The track record for three-year-old colts is 1:56.4 established by Cash Me Out in 2014, while Gural Hanover holds the gelding mark of 1:56.1 set in 2014. Gural Hanover's time is also the all-time trotting standard at Buffalo Raceway that was recently tied by Chelseas Chance on June 1.
The 12-race card will get underway at 5 p.m. with a pair of $15,000 legs of the Excelsior ‘A’ Series to be contested along with a $6,600 race in the Excelsior ‘B’ Series.
(Buffalo Raceway)