Dave Ain't Here wins Yonkers feature

Dave Ain't Here (Jim Pantaleano) went the distance Saturday night at Yonkers Raceway, winning the $32,000 Open Handicap Pace.

 

Leaving from post position No. 2, "Dave" stepped around Diamond Stick Pin (Jeff Gregory), making the lead before a :28 opening quarter-mile.  He then rated a :57.2 mid-point before Fox Valley Tribal (Stephane Bouchard) tried it first-up. Dave Ain't Here maintained the throne at the 1:25.4 three-quarters, taking a length-and-a-quarter lead into the lane. From there, he need only deal with  Diamond Stick Pin. "Dave" did, holding sway by a neck in a season's-best 1:53.4.

 

Fox Valley Tribal held the bottom off the ticket, with Next Adventure (Jason Bartlett) and Hennessy Hanover (Jordan Stratton) earning the minor spoils.  Soutbwind Tabor (Ryan Anderson), the tepid favorite at just under 3-1, couldn't get involved from the eight-hole and finished seventh.

 

For Dave Ain't Here, a 9-year-old Blissfull Hall gelding owned and trained by Ettore Annunziata, he paid $22 (seventh choice) for his second win in five  seasonal starts. The exacta paid $103, with the triple returning $418.  All thee of the weekend features were won by double-digit odds propositions.

 

Also Saturday, the Raceway and the Standardbred Owners Association of New York honored 2009's leading driver (Bartlett), trainer (Josh Green) and  owner (Larry Baron) during a winner's circle presentation. Joe Faraldo and John Brennan, SOA president and vice president, handed out the awards. (Yonkers Raceway)