Conway Hall offspring sweep 3YO events at Yonkers

The state's marquee 3-year-old colts and geldings inundated Yonkers Raceway Friday night for the $236,883 New York Sire Stakes White Plains Trot. All four winners were sons of Conway Hall.

Four Starz Speed (Stephane Bouchard, $6.40) walked around the oval in the first ($59,770) division for a fourth consecutive victory. He easily held the was-gonna-be-a-Yonkers-Trot-winner Holiday Credit (Jim Morrill Jr.) at bay in a flat 2:00. The gelding, owned by Four Starz Stable and trained by Michael Latham, prevailed by 2 1/2 lengths.

Odds-on choice Big Apple Deli (Bouchard, $2.40) went the distance in the second ($58,670) event, beating The Pres (Dan Daley) by a neck in 1:58.2. The colt, owned by Lon Frocione and trained hy John Simpson Jr., has won half of his dozen seasonal starts.

Velocity Hall--chauffeured by leading driver Jason Bartlett--was able to get off the seasonal schneid in the third ($59,770) NYSS grouping, which included the likes of Make it Happen (Ray Schnittker, fourth at 3-5) and Ace High Hall (Dan Dube, fifth at 5-2).

Velocity Hall, a colt co-owned by Thomas Dillon and Walter Hight and trained by Jonas Czernyson, was 0-for-10 coming in. He returned $15.20, defeating 41-1 outsider Crownprince Volo (Brian Cross) by 2 1/4 lengths. The triple, completed by 38-1 Colie's (Morrill Jr.), paid $2,642, with the superfecta a healthy $5,690.  

The final ($58,670) sire stakes event offered a chance for the understudies when probable favorite General Royal--who had won his last three races--came up ill. Sir Prize Hall (Howard Okusko Jr., $4.80), accorded the role of new fan favorite, outdrew his rivals and made 'em pay. He defeated My Cool Breeze (Bartlett) by a length-and-a-half in 1:59.4. 

Jessica Okusko trained for Purple Haze Stables as Sir Prize Hall won his fourth race in 14 '08 tries.

This same statebred division returns here a week from Saturday night for the Armand Palatucci Trot.      

Friday night's pair of $40,000 Open Handicaps--for trotters and distaff pacers--San Remo Kosmos (Greg Grismore, $4.10) in 1:56.3 and Parkontheroad (Jim Pantaleano, $7.80) in 1:53.3. (Yonkers)

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