Driver Todd McCarthy won two of the four $50,000 divisions of the opening event of the MGM Grand Prix Pacing Series on Monday night (November 25) at MGM Yonkers Raceway after taking the win with Captain Albano (Captain treacherous) and Jump Inbeing step A (Somewhere on the beach). Soho Firestone A (George Brennan) and Coaches Corner (Jason Bartlett) captured the other two splits.
Captain Albano came away fourth in the opening break, while Huntinthelastdolar (Bartlett) worked his way around Jamaican Rock A (Matt Kakaley) to take the lead after the 27th opening quarter. Huntinthelastdolar stayed ahead through the half in 55.3 and the three quarters in 1:23.1 as captain Albano was the first to make progress after being brought out late in the third turn.
Huntinthelastdolar stayed ahead of Captain Albano around the final turn and into the track, but Captain Albano was able to hold on to his exposed brush and beat the match Huntinthelastdolar late in the mile, by a neck in 1:50.4. Tip Top Cat (Yannick Gingras) came third, followed by Nandolo N (Lauren Tritton) and Jamaican Rock A.
Noel Daley trains Captain Albano, a 4-year-old son of Captaintreacherous bred by Fred Hertrich III, for owners Patricia Stable, LA Express & Sjoblom Inc., Sjoblom Racing Inc. and Michael Dolan. Captain Albano, winner of the Dan Patch Award in 2023 and 2024, now has 24 wins from 42 starts, having earned $2,055,823 and paid $3.26 to win as favorite. He keyed in an exacta of $3.72 and a trifecta of $9.82.
McCarthy and Spring Inhis Step A reached the final in 1:51.2. 1-5 favorite Miki Shan N (Colin Kelly) was clear on the point with splits of 27.2, 55.2 and 1:22.2, while Spring Inhis Step A bided his time in third before McCarthy fired him out before three-quarters. Spring Inhis Step A raced into second on the final turn, attacked by the tiring leader in the top part of the stretch and then pedaled away to beat pocket sitter The Greek Freak (Kakaley) by two lengths as Miki Shan N took third. Captain Moore A (Brennan) and Courts On Fire (Gingras) finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Spring Inhis Step A, conditioned by Jeff Cullipher for owner Pollack Racing LLC., is an 8-year-old Somebeachsomewhere gelding. Now a 30-time winner from 99 trips out of the gate, he has $516,835 to his name and returned $10.02 to win 4-1 as second choice. The exacta was worth $96.74 and the trifecta cost $423.14.
In his section, Soho Firestone A worked a pocket trip behind Calicojack Hanover (Daniel Dube) to the 27.2 quarter, 56.1 half and 1:23.3 three-quarter, before outsmarting the pace setter down the stretch to take the nod by half a length in 1:50.4. Calicojack Hanover, Redwood Hanover (Bartlett), Always A Thrill (Kelly) and Catalpa Rescue A (McCarthy) rounded out the top five.
A 6-year-old gelding by American Ideal, Soho Firestone A, was owned by Doug Dilloian Jr. broadcast for owners David Linker, Brian Loman and Robert Venable. Soho Firestone A has a summary of 19-15-8 from 71 appearances, having wagered $305,339 and paid $8.64 to win 3-1 as fourth choice. He led an exacta of $37 and a trifecta of $114.90.
Coaches Corner (Bartlett), the runner-up in the final of this series a year ago, was a great 1:51.2 winner in his tilt. He drove two wide to hit the front of Blazing Home N (McCarthy) past the quarter of 27.3, and after the middle half stations of 56.2 and 1:24.1 he sprinted home in 27.1 to beat a second-over Desperate Man (Kakaley) by 6 1/2 lengths. Verdun (Pat Lachance) finished third after a first-over trip, followed by Blazing Home N and American Dealer N (Dube).
Coaches Corner, trained by Per Engblom, is a 5-year-old gelding son of Always a virgin owned by Jeff Fought Racing and Brian Carsey. Coaches Corner, bred in Indiana by Black Creek Farm and Hickory Hollow Stable, made his 33rd trip to the winner’s circle on his 89th attempt and he now has $1,321,487 in his pocket. He returned $2.30 to win as the 1-9 pick and topped with an exacta of $4.68 and a trifecta of $8.10.
Two more heats of the MGM Grand Prix Pacing Series will be held, with the second round on Monday, December 1 and the third leg on Monday, December 8. Points for the series are earned on a scale of 50-25-12-8-5 (the winner gets 50 points, the 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 Pacing Series and the companion MGM Grand Prix Trotting Series.
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). However, the oval will be dark for the rest of this week after Tuesday evening’s (November 25) program in honor of Thanksgiving.
For full race results, click here: American trotting results.
By Yonkers Race Track
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