Early battle turns into a romp

After being pressured the entire harness racing mile, Delitfulcatherin N (Bettor’s Delight) still had a :28 second last quarter mile in her as she won the $39,000 Fillies and Mares Open Handicap Pace in a romp Thursday (July 21) at Yonkers Raceway.

The 7th race feature started off with Darby Hanover (Scott Zeron), Delitfulcatherin N (Jordan Stratton) first-over and Best Head West (Joe Bongiorno) three-wide, all vying for the early lead past the opening quarter mile in :27.1.

Delitfulcatherin N cleared to the lead but was still challenged by first-over Best Head West with Morning Has Broken (Jim Marohn, Jr) second-over to the half mile in :55.1.

Then Marohn swept three-wide in the backstretch with Morning Has Broken but could not clear and was stuck three-wide past the three quarters in 1:23.2.

It seemed that Stratton and Delitfulcatherin N had enough at that point and started to pull away from the field and then poured it on in the stretch to win by four and one-half lengths in 1:51.2. Darby Hanover was second with Violets Rainbow (Tyler Buter) third.

DELITFULCATHERIN N REPLAY

For Delitfulcatherin N, it was the six-year-old mare’s fourth win this year for trainer Jeff Gillis and owner Mark Ford. As the wagering favorite she paid $5.50 to win.

For complete race results, click here.

by Steve Wolf, for Harnesslink