Yonkers Raceway will play host to a bevy of ‘young ladies’ on Tuesday night (July 18), as the New York Sire Stakes’ Bruce Hamilton Trot for two-year-old fillies is set for action.
The event again honors the memory of the longtime executive secretary of the Harness Horse Breeders of New York, one of the Empire State’s true movers and shakers who also happened to be one of its finest people.
There will be no shortage of first-season females hitting town, as six divisions (Races 5 through 10) will take place during the dozen-race card. First post is the usual 7:10 p.m. The groupings will race for anywhere from $26,000 to $27,000, depending upon the number of starters.
The road to the winner’s circle in a fair amount of these divisions seemingly goes though co-owner/trainer/driver Åke Svanstedt.
Lucky Ava drew outside her six rivals in the third division. The daughter of Lucky Chucky, co-owned by Svanstedt (with Little E LLC and Van Camp Trotting), went the distance (2:01.3) in her Buffalo bow.
Svanstedt and Plunge Blue Chip (Post 5) loom a short price in the fourth event. The Muscle Mass miss, co-owned (with breeder Blue Chip Bloodstock), threw down a two-minute gauntlet in her purse debut, also in a New York Sire Stakes event at Hamburg.
Svanstedt will team with Natalie Hanover (Post 7) from the outside venue in the penultimate Hamilton event. As with her stablemates, ‘Natalie’ shuffled off to Buffalo and won (2:04) at first (NYSS) asking. The Chapter Seven miss is co-owned by Svanstedt-Nasstrom Stable, Van Camp Trotting, Anders Olsson and Lars Berg.
The stable’s lone first-out non-winner, Fury Road, will start from Post 2 in the evening’s final state-bred event. The daughter of Muscle Mass, owned by Knuttson Trotting, finished a solid second in her debut.
Not every early-season standout is sent out by Svanstedt.
Ooteeny (Mark MacDonald, Post 3) landed in the third NYSS event fresh off a 31-1 Buffalo bedazzler (2:03.4). The daughter of Credit Winner is trained by Jim Campbell for owner Runthetable Stables.
Lima Novelty (Jason Bartlett, Post 3), the lass who picked off Fury Road in western New York (2:01.3), found her way into the evening’s fifth foray. The Chapter Seven lass is owned by Ken Jacobs and trained by Linda Toscano.
(Yonkers Raceway)