Freshmen open up State Fair stakes at Vernon
Vernon, NY --- New York Sire Stakes standouts Royal Shyster and Lawgiver Hanover produced the fastest divisional scores during Thursday night’s (August 11) $171,820 New York State Fair racing program at Vernon Downs.
Royal Shyster ($2.40) recorded a career-best 1:58.1 victory in the fourth division of Thursday’s $83,688 NYSS-sponsored contest for 2-year-old colt/gelding trotters, while Lawgiver Hanover ($11.60) equaled his 1:53 record with a feisty first-place finish in the third flight of an $88,132 battle among New York-bred freshman male pacers.
With trainer Dan Daley driving for owners Ann-Mari Daley (Dan’s wife), Albert C. Crawford, Richard Lombardo and Robert Pergament, Royal Shyster powered to a convincing tally in Thursday’s eighth event that improved his fledgling record to four wins and two second-place finishes in six career starts. Three of his scores have come in NYSS action, while the other was a first-place finish in the Tompkins-Geers stake at Tioga Downs on July 14. The son of RC Royalty-Spin The Planet is now a winner of $54,437.
With Jim Morrill, Jr. teaming for trainer Mark Harder, Lawgiver Hanover, a son of Art Major-Lauren Order, hustled to a front-ending, three-quarter length triumph in Thursday’s ninth race that advanced his record to three wins and a second in four outings for owners Rick Phillips, Deena Rachel Frost and the W Springtime Racing Stable. In addition to a pair of NYSS scores, the career-winner of nearly $36,000 secured his record in the Tompkins-Geers stake at Tioga on July 17.
Thursday’s other NYSF divisional winners in the trotting test were Credicity (Credit Winner-Phillycityhall), in 1:59.2 for Wanda Polisseni’s Purple Haze Stables; Coraggioso (Conway Hall-Electra Hanover), in 1:59.4 for owners Joe Spadaro and Tom J. Durkin; and Archangel (Credit Winner-Michelle's Angel), in 1:59.4 for trainer/part-owner Peter Arrigenna and his partners Clare Semer and Alan Hainsworth.
Thursday’s NYSF triumphs on the pace were by Forever Just (Bettor's Delight-Forever Cam), in 1:54.2, lifting his record to four wins (one in the Tompkins-Geers and three in NYSS action) and a second in five official appearances for Fred Wallace and the Stake Your Claim Stable; Raymond J (Art Major-Only The Best), in 1:54.4 for local owner Ken Jacobs; and Glass Prince (Artiscape-China Princess), in 1:55.1 for the Stake Your Claim Stable, improving his 2011 chart to three NYSS tallies, a second-place finish and a third in five starts.
Driver Tim Tetrick tallied four times during Thursday’s 12-race card, Linda Toscano earned three training credits, while Morrill posted a driving double.
Newcomer Sold Out (part-owner and trainer Patrick Lachance teaming for the Z Tam Stables), captured the week’s $10,000 Open for female pacers with a life’s best 1:54.3 performance in race seven.