Park MGM Pace elims taken by Earthwindfire & Ucandoit Blue Chip
A pair of $20,000 Park MGM Pace eliminations for 3-year-old fillies kicked off Friday's (June 23) card at MGM Yonkers Raceway, and Earthwindfire and Ucandoit Blue Chip would pick up the victories.
Driven by Tim Tetrick, Earthwindfire, who just won a New York Sire Stakes division on Monday (June 19) at Monticello, scored in 1:52.2 after leading the way through fractions of 28.2, 56.4 and 1:24.2. Lisa Lane (Patrick Ryder) closed well after a pocket trip and was the runner-up, just a neck behind the winner, and Silky Stride (Jordan Stratton) collected third. Treacherous Penny (Andy McCarthy) was able to advance from sixth to fourth in the final panel to secure the last spot in the final from the first elimination.
Brett Pelling trains Earthwindfire, a daughter of American Ideal bred by Stephen Dey III, for owners Mel Segal, Kentuckiana Racing Stable and Tulip Racing. Earthwindfire has a record of 8-4-0 from 13 starts, pushed her earnings to $378,750 and paid $2.10 to win. She was atop a $4.40 exacta and a $10.60 trifecta.
In the other elimination Ucandoit Blue Chip, piloted by Scott Zeron, led early from post one, but 4-5 favorite Vivians Dream (Brian Sears) pressed on two-wide and moved past Ucandoit Blue Chip before the 27.2 opening quarter. Vivians Dream would go on to reach the half in 56.3 and the three-quarters in 1:25.1, with American Crispin (Jordan Stratton), who moved first-over out of fourth past the half, pressuring her as they raced in the backstretch for the second time.
Vivians Dream managed to put American Crispin away on the last turn, but that gave Ucandoit Blue Chip space to angle out, and once she had clearance, she was able to rally past Vivians Dream to take over the top spot again in the lane. The race wasn't over, though, as True Blue Hanover (Jason Bartlett), who sat at the back of the pack in fifth, rallied strongly on the inside to the wire. However, her bid fell a nostril short of success, as Ucandoit Blue Chip got to the line first in a 1:53 mile. Vivians Dream and Turn On The Charm (Marcus Miller) were third and fourth.
Ucandoit Blue Chip is a Keystone Velocity filly trained by Linda Toscano for owner Bill Elliott. The Blue Chip Bloodstock Inc.-bred made her seventh appearance in the winner's circle, sent her bankroll to $340,285 and returned $4.80 to win as the 7-5 second choice. The exacta was worth $79.00 and the trifecta kicked back $179.50.
The $100,000 (est.) Park MGM Pace final will take place next Friday (June 30) as part of an action-packed program that will also include the $300,000 MGM Yonkers Trot final, the $250,000 (est.) MGM Grand Messenger Stakes final and the $115,000 (est.) New York New York Mile final. The MGM Yonkers Trot and MGM Grand Messenger Stakes are the first legs of the Trotting and Pacing Triple Crowns.
