The third leg of the MGM Borgata Pacing Series went postward Monday evening at Yonkers Raceway, and fans saw some new faces find their way to victory lane in four divisions.
Backstreet Shadow took down his $50,000 assignment after third-place finishes in the first two preliminary legs.
Sent off as the 3-5 favourite, the Travis Alexander trainee turned a second-over trip into a 1:51.3 score for driver Matt Kakaley. This Is The Plan laid down fractions of :27.3, :56.1 and 1:24 before being overtaken by the late-driving Backstreet Shadow. The favourite kicked home in :27 to win by 1-1/4 lengths over This Is The Plan. Nandolo N was third.
The eight-year-old son of Shadow Play-Backstreet Sweetie won for the fourth time this season and for the 37th time in his career. The career winner of $1,382,061 is owned by Robert Di Nozzi of Katonah, New York.
Hemsworth N had little to offer in the first two legs of the series as noted in fifth and eighth-place finishes, but he parlayed a pocket trip into a 1:52.1 decision in Monday’s second division.
Trained by Jared Bako, the six-year-old son of Sweet Lou-In Hollywood improved his 2023 record to 2-1-0 from five starts with the victory. The career winner of $128,009 prevailed for the 15th time in his career. He is owned by 1362313 Ontario Ltd of Windsor, Ont.
Funatthebeach N erupted for a 36-1 upset in the third division for the tandem of driver Jordan Stratton and trainer Jeff Gillis.
The 15-1 upsetter in the final of last year’s MGM Borgata Pacing Series got away sixth in Monday’s assignment while None Bettor A and race favourite Tattoo Artist slugged it out to the quarter-pole in :27.1 before Tattoo Artist worked his way into the role of pacesetter. He slipped through middle panels of :55.3 and 1:23.1, but it was the first-over Funatthebeach N who wore him down late.
Funatthebeach N kicked home in :27.1 to win by 3-1/2 lengths over Hellabalou in 1:50.4. None Bettor A tagged along to complete the Trifecta ticket while favourite Tattoo Artist faded to fourth.
The nine-year-old son of Somebeachsomewhere-Minnie Moose won for the fifth time this season from 10 attempts for owner Mark Ford of Campbell Hall, New York. The 38-time winner recently surpassed the $1 million mark in career earnings. His bankroll now stands at $1,029,004.
The final division saw American Courage pull off an 8-1 upset to give driver Matt Kakaley and trainer Travis Alexander their second win of the evening in the series.
Jimmy Freight powered to the lead from Post 7 and had the field chasing him through fractions of :26.4, :55.2 and 1:23.2. Kakaley took his shot first over in the backstretch with American Courage, and after pressing Jimmy Freight around the final turn it was American Courage who got up to win by a head over Jimmy Freight in 1:51. Covered Bridge rounded out the top three finishers.
The winner of the 2021 Messenger Stakes at Yonkers picked up his first win of the season and the 18th of his career. The five-year-old son of American Ideal-Nota Fool Bluechip pushed his lifetime earnings to $821,212 with the win. He’s a homebred owned by Fiddlers Creek Stables LLC of Naples, Florida.