Blue Chip and Levy series set for round two
In the midst of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament's "March Madness" and with a pending winter storm set to arrive on the first full day of spring, Yonkers Raceway will hosts the second legs of both the Blue Chip Matchmaker and George Morton Levy series this Friday and Saturday evenings, respectively, with pacers of both genders looking to secure spots in those respective finals on April 21.
Friday's first split of the second Blue Chip will feature opening round winner, Twinkle (Eric Goodell) and runner-up Dewar N Soda - both of which are Maryland-bred distaffers - while newcomer Wishy Washy Girl (Jason Bartlett) gets the rail for trainer Richard Banca and could loom a serious factor here and throughout the series.
Two races later Maryland-breds Clear Idea and Vintage Babe drew posts one and three, respectively, while opening round winner Shartin N (Tim Tetrick) got post four. Eclipse Me N (Daniel Dube), unlucky in round one, did not get any immediate breaks here while drawing the seven hole but should be a factor late.
One race later Mach It A Par (Bartlett) draws the rail after an unfavorable slot last week and should improve while Wrangler Magic (Dube) makes her series debut for Rene Allard following a pair of good qualifiers. Maryland-bred Newborn Sassy (Tetrick) gets post five in the fourth split, the weakest of the group, and opening round winner Lady Shadow (Bartlett) will start from post five in the last division just inside fellow Maryland-bred Dudesalady, a gritty runner-up last week. Defending Blue Chip champion Mackenzie A (Jordan Stratton) will look to improve off a lackluster effort as the 8-5 choice in round one but gets post seven here.
Saturday's second round of Levy series action will be on the latter half of the card, but last week's winners will seek to nail down spots in the final early while others will have another chance to atone for opening week efforts.
The first split, carded as race seven, features opening round winners Dr J Hanover (Brett Miller), Always At My Place and Bit Of A Legend N (Stratton), the 2016 final hero, who got posts one, four and seven, respectively, while defending Levy hero Keystone Velocity got post six and will need to improve on last week's fourth-place finish to keep his hopes alive of reaching the final again. The reigning champion aged pacer ended his previous campaign by capturing the second edition of the $100,000 Potomac Pace at Rosecroft Raceway in 1:47.3.
One race later opening round runner-up Evenin of Pleasure (Joe Bongiorno) should keep his hopes alive of reaching the final against Bettor Memories, Christen Me N and All Bets Off. In this split are three opening round runner-ups, while All Bets Off finished a lackluster third in his seasonal debut and will have to overcome post seven here to keep his hopes alive of reaching the final for a third straight year.
Two races later Caviart Luca (George Brennan) drew the rail and gets another acid test against Missile J (Tetrick), Somewhere In L A (Bartlett) and Western Fame (Mark Macdonald). Missile J was the beaten favorite last week following a first over bid and he was also the beaten choice in the lucrative final last spring. Somewhere In L A raced well first over last week into a fast back half and Western Fame should improve off last week's effort although he did not draw much better.
Then one race later in the last Levy split and the penultimate race on the card, opening round winner Mach It So (Tetrick) went from the blessed to the cursed after going from last week's rail draw to the eight hole, while fellow opening round winner Rockin Ron (Yannick Gingras) got post two after last week's quick 1:53 tally. Western Dynasty and Long Live Rock both raced well in defeat last week and both could improve here despite drawing posts six and seven, respectively.
Friday's first split of the second Blue Chip will feature opening round winner, Twinkle (Eric Goodell) and runner-up Dewar N Soda - both of which are Maryland-bred distaffers - while newcomer Wishy Washy Girl (Jason Bartlett) gets the rail for trainer Richard Banca and could loom a serious factor here and throughout the series.
Two races later Maryland-breds Clear Idea and Vintage Babe drew posts one and three, respectively, while opening round winner Shartin N (Tim Tetrick) got post four. Eclipse Me N (Daniel Dube), unlucky in round one, did not get any immediate breaks here while drawing the seven hole but should be a factor late.
One race later Mach It A Par (Bartlett) draws the rail after an unfavorable slot last week and should improve while Wrangler Magic (Dube) makes her series debut for Rene Allard following a pair of good qualifiers. Maryland-bred Newborn Sassy (Tetrick) gets post five in the fourth split, the weakest of the group, and opening round winner Lady Shadow (Bartlett) will start from post five in the last division just inside fellow Maryland-bred Dudesalady, a gritty runner-up last week. Defending Blue Chip champion Mackenzie A (Jordan Stratton) will look to improve off a lackluster effort as the 8-5 choice in round one but gets post seven here.
Saturday's second round of Levy series action will be on the latter half of the card, but last week's winners will seek to nail down spots in the final early while others will have another chance to atone for opening week efforts.
The first split, carded as race seven, features opening round winners Dr J Hanover (Brett Miller), Always At My Place and Bit Of A Legend N (Stratton), the 2016 final hero, who got posts one, four and seven, respectively, while defending Levy hero Keystone Velocity got post six and will need to improve on last week's fourth-place finish to keep his hopes alive of reaching the final again. The reigning champion aged pacer ended his previous campaign by capturing the second edition of the $100,000 Potomac Pace at Rosecroft Raceway in 1:47.3.
One race later opening round runner-up Evenin of Pleasure (Joe Bongiorno) should keep his hopes alive of reaching the final against Bettor Memories, Christen Me N and All Bets Off. In this split are three opening round runner-ups, while All Bets Off finished a lackluster third in his seasonal debut and will have to overcome post seven here to keep his hopes alive of reaching the final for a third straight year.
Two races later Caviart Luca (George Brennan) drew the rail and gets another acid test against Missile J (Tetrick), Somewhere In L A (Bartlett) and Western Fame (Mark Macdonald). Missile J was the beaten favorite last week following a first over bid and he was also the beaten choice in the lucrative final last spring. Somewhere In L A raced well first over last week into a fast back half and Western Fame should improve off last week's effort although he did not draw much better.
Then one race later in the last Levy split and the penultimate race on the card, opening round winner Mach It So (Tetrick) went from the blessed to the cursed after going from last week's rail draw to the eight hole, while fellow opening round winner Rockin Ron (Yannick Gingras) got post two after last week's quick 1:53 tally. Western Dynasty and Long Live Rock both raced well in defeat last week and both could improve here despite drawing posts six and seven, respectively.
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