All eyes on “Arty” in $511,000 Borgata final

The final act in a long range plan by ex -Aussie and now successful USA harness racing trainer Shane Tritton to target the rich MGM Borgata Series with superstar Downunder pacer Lochinvar Art (Modern Art) plays out this morning (Apr 25 Australian Time).’

The winner of 28 Australian races ($1.43 mill) arrived in the USA in October last year, and Tritton allowed him plenty of time to acclimatise, with the MGM Borgata ($511,000 US) the identified target.

Lochinvar Art breezed through a couple of warmup events before the first of five preliminary rounds in the revered Yonkers series – with the highest points-scorers qualifying for the final.

He won his first two legs of the Borgata before a second in round three when a post-race scope revealed phlegm in his respiratory system.  Having sufficient points in the locker to sit out the fourth round, Lochinvar Art, having missed some work, finished third in the fifth and final leg.

Connections were no doubt disappointed with the barrier 7 draw in the final, leaving driver Lauren Tritton little option but to go back when the mobile pulls away.

Although it’s not an ideal scenario, Lochinvar Art was able to stage a very strong come-from-behind win in the second round of Borgata preliminaries and Australian owner Kevin Gordon will be at Yonkers cheering his star on.

“He worked very well (on Friday) and looks to be right,” he said.

“Barrier seven is the biggest hang up on the half-mile track and it’s obvious he is much better on the bigger tracks – there are a number of big races here he is staked for after this.”

Another ex-Aussie, will have a big hand in the $328,000 mare feature the Blue Chip Matchmaker Final in Dougs Babe (Western Terror).

Now with Richard “Nifty” Norman in New Jersey, Dougs Babe was trained in Australia by Geoff Webster. She is coming off a career-best performance in winning a third preliminary round of the Matchmaker last week.

The MGM Borgata Final is race 9 on the Yonkers card, with start time scheduled for 11.40 am Australian time.

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