NYSS finals are drawn

The post position draw for the $1.2 million New York Night of Champions was held on Wednesday morning at Saratoga Gaming and Raceway for the eight Championship events of the New York Sire Stakes for 2 and 3 year olds.

Saratoga-based John Stark Jr. will be the busiest trainer on the Night of Champions with six horses entered. Ed Hart is a close second with five and Linda Toscano and Paul Doherty will each send out four in the season-ending finals worth $150,000 each.

RC Royalty, a career winner of $585,000 and second in Sire Stakes points among the 3-year-old colt trotters, did not enter the final and instead wil race in the $1 million Canadian Trotting Classic elim at Mohawk.

"I'm disappointed we won't get the chance to race against RC Royalty," said Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Works Tom McTygue, co-owner of Algiers Hall. "We raced against him at Monticello (Aug. 29) and we made a break at the start and came back well for third. For the fans and for the race itself, there were a lot of people looking forward to those two meeting."

While he would have liked to try his horse against trainer Dan Daley's RC Royalty, McTygue was pleased with his draw of post four. He owns the son of Conway Hall with Saratoga trainer John Stark Jr. and Syracuse's Carlyle and David Smith.

"He's kind of an anxious horse. We’re always nervous until he hits the first turn trotting," said McTygue, alluding to problems his colt has had breaking stride this year before and just after the start. "But he races here well and he won here handily last week (by 10 lengths)."

Cold Winner, also trained by Stark, will start from post eight in the same final for Johnstown residents Skip and Wendy Spring. It is the second year the homebred gelding has drawn the outside post for the final; he finished fifth last year.

The battle between a pair of Saratoga-trained 3-year-old trotting fillies will materialize on Saturday night with Quick Credit out of the Paul Kelley stable and Ackbro Ms Perfect sent out by Scott Mongeon drawing the two and four posts, respectively. The close posts will help to ensure an even more competitive contest.

Kelley co-owns his charge with brother David and breeder Valley High Stable. She is the winner of $453,000 in her career.

"I don't know that she's really any better this year than last year," explained Kelley. "Her strengths are that she shows up every week, gives you 100 percent each time and she can trot a half-mile track very good."

Kelley will be using North America's leading dash-winning driver Tony Morgan behind Quick Credit Saturday instead of regular driver Brian Mattison. Morgan also steered the filly to her fourth-place finish in the Hambletonian Oaks on Aug. 5.

"It's not a knock to Brian at all," explained Kelley. "He's done a tremendous job with her and he's the reason he's in the final at all this year. He's kept her well within herself and kept her fresh."

Ackbro Ms. Perfect is owned by brothers Dan and Steve Ackerknecht.

In the glamour division of the 3-year-old pacing colts, trainer Ed Hart will send out three competitors and attempt to beat last year's returning champion Winbak Dimension on the rail. Hart will send out Predator DVM and Gimmebackmybullets from posts five and seven, respectively, as a coupled entry for owners Legacy Racing Stable. The trainer will also start All Shuttle from post six.

World Champion and millionaire Darlin's Delight will be the other defending champion featured on the card and she appears to have no peers in her 3-year-old pacing filly division. Not only did she win the $638,000 Fan Hanover in Mohawk on Aug. 26, but she has never been headed in her required three preliminary legs of Sire Stakes competition. She will be sent out by Jeff Stafford for owner and breeder White Birch Farm. (Harness Horse Breeders of New York)

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