Yonkers Raceway's Friday night $37,000 co-featured Open Handicaps -- pace for the fairer sex and trot for anyone of distinction -- were won by people's choices Royal Cee Cee N (Brian Sears, $4.10) and "three-peating" Tall Cotton (George Brennan, $5.70).
Royal Cee Cee, from post position No. 7, worked past Rock N Load (Dan Dube), making the lead right at a :27.3 first two furlongs. From there, nary an issue (:56.4 half, 1:25.2 three-quarters). She kept a first-up Mibestkeptsecret (Mark MacDonald) at bay and won by a length and a quarters at the (1:53.1) wire. Second went to Rock N Load, with I Know Nothing (Eric Goodell), Mibestkeptsecret and Ramalama (Brennan) coming away with the remainder.
For Royal Cee Cee, a seven-year-old Down Under daughter of Christian Cullen owned and trained by Mark Harder, it was her sixth win in 19 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $30.80, the triple returned $263.50 and the superfecta paid $953.
The featured trot saw tepid 9-5 choice Tall Cotton -- from his ordered eight-hole -- march to the lead around pole-assignee Prayer Session (Brent Holland). Taking over after a :27.2 opening quarter, he then rated a :56.1 half.
Then, second-choice Little Brown Fox (Sears) -- who had taken a seat fourth -- made a second move. He tried to engaged the leader before the 1:25.3 three-quarters, but never came close.
Tall Cotton opened two and a half lengths entering the lane, before winning by that same margin in 1:55.3. Likeabatoutahell (Goodell) skimmed the cones, closing from last to grab second, with Somebody AS (catch-driver Dube), Prayer Session and Bastille (Jim Pantaleano) rounding out the payees.
Tall Cotton, a seven-year-old Revenue S gelding co-owned by Burke (as Burke Racing), Howard Taylor, Weaver Brusecemi and Edwin Gold, is now seven-for-18 this season (those three consecutive wins in a four-week period). The exacta paid $34.40, with triple returning $292.
(With files from Yonkers Raceway)