Fast miles highlight fourth Levy leg at Yonkers

It's getting down to the nitty and the gritty in the George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series, with  Yonkers Raceway hosting the fourth of five preliminary rounds Saturday night. Five, $50,000 divisions went postward. 

 

Pole-sitting River Shark (Dan Dube) took care of business in the opener as the odds-on choice. He placed PsiluvuheartbreaKer (Jason Bartlett) into the  pocket and went on to the swiftest local mile (1:52.2) of the season...for about 40 minutes. The stalker was clearly second, beaten a length-and-three-quarters, with a first-up Western Ace (Corey Callahan) along for third.

 

For River Shark, a 4-year-old Four Starzzz Shark gelding trained by Mark Ford for co-owners Aaron Waxman, El Lobo LLC and VIP Internet Stable, he returned $3.30 for his fourth win in seven seasonal starts. The exacta paid $12.40, with the triple returning $22.60.

 

Saturday night's second event presented defending series champ Foiled Again (Bartlett) as the 2-5 favorite. After Go Go Solano (Brett Miller) paid a stiff  (:26.1) price to get around King Cat Anvil N (Jordan Stratton), Foiled Again moved from third. 

 

Despite a 55-second intermission and 1:22.4 three-quarters, Go Go Solano wasn't ready to go go quite yet. Foiled Again had his hooves full disposing of  that one, while Jeremy's Successor (Tyler Buter) sized it up from second-up.

 

No sooner did Foiled Again grab the lead than Jeremy's Successor moved at him. "Jeremy" edged away by a length in 1:52.1--now the fastest seasonal  local mile--with Go Go Solano holding third.  

 

For Jeremy's Successor. a 6-year-old Mach Three gelding owned by Andrea Ann Hill and trained by Dean Eckley, he returned $12.60 (third choice) for  his third win in 10 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $30.60, with the triple retuning $69.

 

The evening's third Levy division found short-priced Mr. Wiggles (Callahan) finishing what he started in 1:53. The 1-2 shot worked his way around Four Trumps A (Larry Stalbaum), then dealt with a first-over McCedes (Bartlett). He defeated Four Trumps A by a length-and-a-half, with Real Nice (Stephane  Bouchard) third.

 

For Mr. Wiggles, a millionaire 4-year-old son of Badlands Hanover co-owned by (trainer) George Teague and Elmer Fannin, he returned $3 for his first win in four '10 tries. The exacta paid $22.20, with the triple retrning $86.50.

 

Saturday night's fourth series event saw Dube double his pleasure for the evening and Pangiorno double his for the series. The pair fought off a stuborn first-over longshot in Western Blood (Stratton) to prevail by a half-length in 1:53.3. Badlands Nitro settled for third, with no excuse from the pocket.

 

For Pangiorno, a 4-year-old The Panderosa gelding co-owned by (trainer) Peter Kleinhans and AJKS Racing, he returned $3.40 for his third win in 11 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $43.40, with the triple returning $128.50. 

 

Saturday night's final series grouping was a sharp, down-the-road effort by 10-1 Legal Litigator (Miller), who picked by "Jeremy's" gauntlet with a 1:52.1 effort of his own. Stepping around pole-sitting, 3-4 choice Atochia (Bartleet0, Legal Litigator led through intervals of  :27.2, :57`and 1:24.1, while dealing with thie  bid of Souuthwind Lynx (Callahan).

 

Legal Litigator put that one away, then held Atochia off a by a half-length in a season's-best effort. "Lynx" was a best-of-the-rest third.

 

For Legal Litigator, a 5-year-old Camluck gelding owned by Bob Hamather and trained by Casie Coleman, he returned $23.40 (fifth choice) for his thrid win in a dozen seasonal starts. The exacta paid $42.80, with the triple returning $135.

 

Bartlett won six races on the 12-race card (he drove in all of them), but was shut out in all five Levy divisions. (Yonkers)