Rooney elims drawn

May 24, 2007

Ideal Vintage and Tivoli Hanover have been installed as the morning-line favorites for this Saturday night's two, $40,000 eliminations for the Art Rooney Pace at Yonkers Raceway. A total of 14 three year olds--eight colts and six geldings--go after eight places in what is the richest event in Yonkers Raceway history, the $1 million final of the Art Rooney Pace Saturday night, June 2.

Ideal Vintage drew post position number six in the first Rooney elimination, with Yannick Gingras driving for trainer Jimmy Takter. The son of Western Ideal, owned by Ideal Vintage Partners, has a win and a second in his two seasonal starts after winning twice as a freshman. He is listed as the 9-5 early selection in his elimination.

He won a $94,800 division of the Bluegrass last September at The Red Mile.

Saturday night's second Rooney elim finds the first two finishers from last weekend's $301,032 final of the Max Hempt at Pocono in Tivoli Hanover (Eric Goodell, post four) and Takeshigemichi (Dan Dube, post three).

"Tivoli," a Western Hanover gelding co-owned by Susan Oakes and Richard Phillips and trained by Chris Oakes, came from well back to upset the Hempt at 22-1 in a career-best 1:51. It was his fifth win in 11 career efforts. He begins at 2-1 this week on the early line set by Raceway program editor Paul-John Ramos.

Takeshigemichi, a son of The Panderosa, won his Hempt elimination in a life-best 1:50 before getting beaten by three-quarters of a length in the final. The 3-1 second choice on the morning line is owned by Lightning Stable and trained by Anthony Mannino.

The fields for the Art Rooney Pace elminations, with declared drivers and morning-line odds:

First elim (8th race)

1-Glass Pack (George Brennan, 8-1)

2-Western Artwork (Eric Goodell, 10-1)

3-The Double Dion (Jim Morrill Jr., 4-1)

4-Home Bed Advantage (Tony Morgan, 5-1)

5-Forensic Z Tam (Pat Lachance, coupled with Home Bed Advantage)

6-Ideal Vintage (Yannick Gingras, 9-5)

7-Southwind Lynx (Tim Tetrick, 2-1).

Second elim (9th race)

1-Poker Hat (Jim Morrill Jr., 10-1)

2-Digital Z Tam (Pat Lachance, 5-1)

3-Takeshigemichi (Dan Dube, 3-1)

4-Tivoli Hanover (Eric Goodell, 2-1)

5-Mattdultery (Yannick Gingras, 4-1)

6-Whistling Hanover (Stephane Bouchard, 6-1)

7-Western Culture (Tim Tetrick, 7-2)

The Art Rooney, one of Yonkers' signature pacing events, returns to the Raceway for the first time since No Pan Intended, the '03 Harness Horse of the Year, was placed first in that July's edition. The Rooney, which began in 1989, was not held in 2004 and 2005 and the '06 edition, won by Gimmebackmybullets, was contested at Monticello last November.

The Rooney's companion stake, the newly-renamed Lismore, attracted six soph fillies who are set to chase $242,620 in a one-dash-for-the-cash event the same night as the final of the Rooney. (Yonkers)

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