Imprincessgemma A ($5.60) 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, New York half-mile oval. Firing off the starting gate from the four post, Imprincessgemma A collected solid fractions of :27.3, :57.3 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, nine-year-old mare Imprincessgemma A (Village Joli-Melody Stride) earned her third victory in seven starts on the year. The win moved her bankroll to $18,845 on the season and an impressive $527,894 lifetime.
In the $11,500 sub-featured pace for the ladies, Ashlees Delight ($8.40) got into high gear in deep stretch and won the four-horse photo by a head in 1:57. She nipped Dragon Sparks by a head while Xenias 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, Ashlees 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 Xenias Chip was poised for her assault on the outside. In deep stretch, Ashlees Delight got up in time in the shadow of the wire while Dragon Sparks had to settle for a tough luck second and Xenias Chip third.
Owned and conditioned by Cassandra Johnson, five-year-old Ashlees Delight (Bettors Delight-Ashleys Place) earned her fourth victory in 12 appearances on the campaign. The win upped her 2023 earnings to $29,166 and her lifetime bankroll to $77,463.
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.
(With files from Buffalo Raceway)