Brian Sears reaches 9,999 wins at Yonkers

YONKERS, NY, Sunday, August 26, 2018- A from-last favored Top Flight Angel (Brian Sears, $5.40) did it with gusto Sunday afternoon (Aug. 26th), winning Yonkers Raceway's featured $44,000 Open Handicap Trot. For driver Brian Sears, it was his 9,999th career victory.

The weekly trotting feature went as the flat-mile opener, right before the four added-distance 'French' races,

Top Flight Angel, the 2017 Yonkers Trot winner, sat last early here from outside post position No. 6. It was Rose Run Sydney (Jim Marohn Jr.) making the first lead, looping Mostinterestingman (Jordan Stratton). The latter then went around as the happy half-dozen went past a :27.3 opening quarter-mile.

It was a cheapy 29-second next subsection (:56.3 intermission) before Andy Ray (Jason Bartlett) was out of fifth. That proved to be a solid tow for Top Flight Angel, especially when Andy Ray rolled right over a non-resistant Mostinterestingman passing the 1:25.4 three-quarters.

Andy Ray owned a short lead into the lane, but he, too, was about to be dismissed. Top Flight Angel went right by, widening to win-oh, by the way, Sears' 9,999th—by 2¾ lengths in 1:54.3.

Second went to a badly-shuffled Rose Run Sydney, with Andy Ray, Fashion Creditor (Brent Holland) and Elysium Lindy (George Brennan) rounding out the payees. As for Mostinterestingman, he backpedaled to last.

For Top Flight, a 4-year-old (duh) son of Archangel owned by Legendary Standardbred Farm and trained by Julie Miller, it was his third win in nine seasonal starts. The exacta paid $19.60, the triple returned $68.50 and the superfecta paid $216.

Sunday's chorus of the 'New York, New York Double' featured a winning combination of 1-Hokulea ( Saratoga's 1st race) and 4-Ursis Des Caillons (Yonkers' 3rd race), returning $49.25 for every correct $1 ticket. Total pool was $7,258.

The next Sunday matinee is Sept. 2nd (post time TBA).

by Frank Drucker, for Yonkers Raceway