Antognoni S (Father Patrick) earned his first harness racing victory in the event as Take All Comers and Sir Pinocchio doubled down in Friday night’s (Dec. 5) trio of $50,000 divisions of the second leg of the MGM Grand Prix Trotting Series at MGM Yonkers Raceway.
On the opening lap of the first flight, winner Ari Ferrari J (Jason Bartlett) fired out from the outside post seven, but made a break in the first corner. With Ari Ferrari J no longer in contention, that put Antognoni S (Yannick Gingras) on the edge, and he would carve out fractions of 28.2, 57.1 and 1:25.4.
He gained distance from the rest of the field to three-quarters and kept going through the 28.1 finish on his way to a 10-length win from a second over Dribbling Bi (Daniel Dube) in 1:54, with a first over Amigo Volo (George Brennan) in third. Mississippi Storm (Brent Holland) and Security Protected (Jordan Stratton) rounded out the top five.
Gingras also co-owns the Ron Burke-trained Antognoni S with partners Burke Racing Stable LLC., Weaver Bruscemi LLC. and FAC Racing LLC. Antognoni S, a 5-year-old Father Patrick gelding bred by Pellpac AB, has a resume of 20-5-6 from 42 starts, having earned $392,861 and paid $2.22 to win as the 1-9 favorite. He led an exacta of $9.60 and a trifecta of $19.80.
ANTOGNONI’S REPEAT
Take All Comers (Todd McCarthy), the defending champion of this series, showed speed from the outside post seven in the second split and was able to power past Cecil Hanover (Gingras) past the 27.2 quarter. Take All Comers stayed on the bike through the middle stations of 56.1 and 1:24.4 and his final kicker of 29.4 was enough to hold off a first-over Asteroid (Colin Kelly) by half a length in 1:54.3. Southwind Coors (Bartlett), Keg Stand (Matt Kakaley) and Blackhawk Zette (Brennan) finished third through fifth.
Jim Campbell sent Take All Comers, a 7-year-old gelding son of Creatinefor owner/breeder Runthetable Stables. Take All Comers has 24 wins, 14 seconds and 11 thirds from 78 starts, collecting $1,189,801 and returning $28.04 to win as a 13-1 offering. He keyed in an exacta of $124.92 and a trifecta of $262.86.
Sir Pinocchio (Bartlett) took the final stretch in 1:54.1. Sir Pinocchio, who set a record mile by winning his group on the opening lap, had the lead in the 27.4 quarter, 57.1 half and 1:25.3 three quarters, while equal second choice Periculum (Scott Zeron) was first over third as they raced down the backstretch for the final time.
Unfortunately, like two weeks ago, Periculum went off the pass in the final corner, allowing Sir Pinocchio to take a 2 1/2 length decision over pocket sitter Ultion Face S (Tyler Buter), Khaosan Road (Dube) was next, followed by Benny J (Jim Marohn Jr.) and Escaper (Holland).
From Met’s Hall, 4-year-old gelding Sir Pinocchio is trained by Ed Hart for owner/breeder Carolyn Atherton. This was his twentieth career victory. He has now pocketed $911,934 and paid $3.62 to win as a 4-5 pick. The exacta was $12.90 and the trifecta was $41.70.
The preliminaries of the MGM Grand Prix Trotting Series conclude on Friday, December 12. Points for the series are earned on a scale of 50-25-12-8-5 (winner gets 50 points, runner-up gets 25, etc.). The top 10 point earners will receive a spot in the $250,000, 1 1/4 mile final on Friday, December 19, while the next 10 point earners will advance to the $75,000, 1 1/4 mile consolation on the same card. A horse must race in all three legs to qualify for the finals and consolations for both the MGM Grand Prix Trotting Series and the companion MGM Grand Prix Pacing Series.
MGM Grand Prix Pacing Series action resumes Monday (December 8) at MGM Yonkers Raceway with four $50,000 divisions of the third and final heats in races two, four, five and eight. Captain Albano will attempt to complete a three-on-three run through the series when he rises from post two in the opening split.
Through the end of the meeting on December 19, MGM Yonkers Raceway will operate on a live racing schedule Monday through Friday with post time each evening at 6:45 PM (EST).
For full race results, click here: American trotting results.
By Yonkers Race Track
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