Royal Filly and Gigi Hanover easily defeated their contemporaries in the New York Sire Stakes event for three-year-old trotting fillies on Monday, Aug. 7 at Monticello Raceway.
The first New York Sire Stakes division, worth $60,300, had a full field of eight starters. Three of the fillies went off stride before the gate left. On The House (Sarah Svanstedt) left quickly and got the lead but driver Mark MacDonald pulled Gigi Hanover, the 2-5 favourite, out of the two-hole before the first panel to take over and control their own destiny. Gigi Hanover hit the opening panel in :30.1 and had nearly three lengths on the pack at the half in a soft :59.4. At the five-eighths marker, Jeff Gregory, driving Canterbury Hanover, was the first to pull from third and the tempo quickened to the third quarter mark in 1:29 as Gigi Hanover strolled home a 2-1/4-length winner in 1:57.3, paying $2.90 for a $2 win ticket. Canterbury Hanover was second and stablemate On The House came in third.
For Gigi Hanover, the win was her second on the year from eight starts after going winless in five starts as a rookie and boosted her career bankroll to $142,307. The daughter of Chapter Seven-Glad All Over is trained by Ake Svanstedt and owned by Mellby Gard Inc. of Delray Beach, Florida.
In the second division, one filly made a miscue going to the gate and two others broke stride when the gate left. Jeans Action (Jim Devaux) got away clean and made the front first with Royal Filly and driver Tyler Buter in the pocket, but only briefly as they took command before the first quarter in :29.2 and held control through a half in :59. Down the backside, Royal Filly began to open up on the field and was up by 4-1/2 lengths at the next stanza in 1:28.2. The easygoing 1-9 favourite threw down a :28.3 last panel to win by 10 lengths, returning $2.30 for a win ticket at the betting windows. Destinys Darling (Jordan Stratton) recovered from an early miscue to finish second with Midwind Success (Marcus Miller) third.
Royal Filly, a daughter of Chapter Seven out of Swinging Royalty, is owned by Crawford Farms Racing and is trained by Tony Alagna. Now four-for-10 this year after a winless freshman season consisting of seven starts, she is just shy of the $200,000 mark in career earnings. Her victories include three Sire Stakes.
Driver Mark MacDonald swept the $20,000 Excelsior Series divisions with winning fillies Five Fish Species in 1:58 for trainer Megan Scran and Seven Bridges Road in 1:59.4 for trainer Maureen Salino.
Sire Stakes action returns to Monticello next Monday, Aug. 14 at 12:10 p.m., when two-year-old trotting fillies take center stage.
(With files from Monticello Raceway; Photo of Royal Filly winning a NYSS division on July 28 at Saratoga)