Imprincessgemma A wires the field in Open

HAMBURG, N.Y. — Imprincessgemma A (Village Joli-Melody Stride) was queen for a day at Buffalo Raceway on Wednesday afternoon (April 26) as she wired the field in the $15,500 Open Pace for the fillies and mares. She defeated American Delight N by 1-3/4 lengths while Bank The Win was third.

Arriving at Buffalo Raceway fresh off a length victory in 1:54.4 at Freehold on April 15, Imprincessgemma A (Kevin Cummings) wasted no time in getting used to the Hamburg half mile oval. Firing off the starting gate from the four post, Imprincessgemma A collected solid fractions of :.3, :5727.3 and 1:26.3 over the fast track.

Bank The Win (David McNeight III) was first up in pursuit of the pacesetter hitting the final panel but she couldn’t slice into the advantage Imprincessgemma A enjoyed turning for home and eventually had to settle for third. American Delight N (Jim Morrill Jr.) also made a big but that effort came up 1-3/4 lengths short in the end.

Owned by Elite Harness Racing LLC and trained by Shawn McDonough, it was the third victory in seven starts on the year for the 9-year-old mare Imprincessgemma A. The win moved her bankroll to $18,845 on the season and an impressive $527,894 lifetime. She paid $5.60 to win.

In the $11,500 sub-featured pace for the ladies, Ashlee’s Delight (Bettor’s Delight-Ashley’s Place) got into high gear in deep stretch and won the four-horse photo by a head in 1:57.0. She nipped Dragon Sparks by a head while Xenia’s Chip was third in an event where the top four finishers were separated by three quarters of a length.

Shadow One took command of the lead after a minor skirmish to the top with Faithful Desire. With fractions of :28.4, :57.2 and 1:26.4, the closers were getting in position for the sprint to the finish.

With Shadow One backing up, Ashlee’s Delight (David McNeight III) was three wide and winging it, turning for home. Dragon Sparks (Joseph Chindano Jr.) was now in position in the passing lane while Xenia’s Chip was poised for her assault on the outside. In deep stretch, Ashlee’s Delight got up in time in the shadow of the wire while Dragon Sparks had to settle for a tough luck second and Xenia’s Chip third.

Owned and conditioned by Cassandra Johnson, it was the third victory in seven appearances on the campaign for the 5-year-old Ashlee’s Delight. The win upped her 2023 earnings to $29,166 and $68,783 in her career. She paid $8.40 to win.

Morrill Jr. and Kyle Cummings each finished the afternoon with triples with McNeight III and Kevin Cummings getting a pair each. Russell Bratt and Tammy Cummings posted training doubles.

Racing will resume on Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. with an 11-race card set. There’s an $816 carryover in the Pick 5 which begins in the second race.

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by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway