Brian Sears Won the Yonkers Trot for the Second Time Last Night
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Sunday, September 6, 2015 Habitat Wins an Eventful Yonkers Trot great to have the opportunity to drive him again and get it By Bill Finley done." YONKERS, NY - You had one top horse break stride and Sears keeps finding himself in the right place at the right another get disqualified from second and placed fifth after a time when it comes to the 3-year-old trotters. He won the rare drivers' objection. This Yonkers Trot had a little bit of Hambletonian with Pinkman, but only after Gingras decided everything, from controversy to a blow-out win from a horse to drive Mission Brief in the final. Last week, Gingras won a that was lost in the shadow of his more highly regarded Yonkers Trot elim with Habitat, but, as expected, chose to stablemate. drive Pinkman in the final. That decision led to Burke Crazy Wow was supposed to be the horse that would naming Sears to drive in the final. give Ron Burke a win in the "I've been in the position where Yannick was in where you Yonkers Trot, but he went on a have to make choices," Sears said. "I know how difficult it break at the start and finished last. can be. I picked off Hambletonian winners, Meadowlands But for the Burke stable and those Pace winners. It is part of the game. It's good to have those who played the favored entry, opportunities when someone else has to make difficult Habitat saved the day with a 3 choices." 1/2-length win in the $500,000 race Gene Kurzrock, a co-owner of Crazy Wow and Habitat, Saturday night. admitted he thought his hopes of winning last night went Hambletonian winner Pinkman down the tubes when Crazy Wow broke. finished second but was "I can't tell you how worried I was when Crazy Wow disqualified after Trond broke," he said. "But we still had Habitat and it was a big thrill that he won. I thought Crazy Wow was the horse that Brian Sears won the Smedshammer, driving Buen Camino, successfully claimed foul. was going to win this for us, but I also thought Habitat had a Yonkers Trot for the shot. He's a nice horse and has done very well for us." second time last night It took the judges a full 20 minutes to declare the race official. (continued on next page) Two races later, Revenge Shark won an extremely tight $500,000 Messenger Stakes, prevailing by a nose over favorite Dude's The Man. In the Arsenal finished another nose back in third. Buen Camino and Smedshammer went right to the top, but Brian Sears was quick to pounce and took control approaching the three-quarter mark. Pinkman made a first-over bid but clearly wasn't the horse who won the Hambletonian as Habitat scooted away from him in the stretch to win easily. The time was 1:54.4 and the Crazy Wow-Habitat entry paid $3.40. "It's always a race to wire and you never take anything for granted, but I liked my position and I liked where I got away," Sears said. "It was good to get Pinkman in behind me. I knew he kind of struggled last week around here and tonight he put in a big effort from the seven hole. But I liked my spot. (Habitat) is a very handy horse and Ronnie Burke has done a great job with him. It was HarnessRacingUpdate.com • 9/06/15 PAGE 2 of 18 As for Pinkman, Gingras said the horse again had trouble with the tight turns at Yonkers. "He was tons better than he was last week," Gingras said. "He was a lot more on the bit. He still struggles through the turns here; he runs in pretty hard here. He is not a big fan of the half-mile racetrack but I thought he raced really good. Post seven really handicapped us and if Doctors Have Advised Pierce to Retire, But He's he drew inside and was able to make the front I think the Not Sure What He Will Do race would've have been a lot different. Give credit where By Bill Finley credit is due. Habitat put in a huge mile and deserved to Though he termed his back surgery performed Thursday win." a success, Hall of Fame driver Ron Pierce is far from a Pinkman wasn't even able to settle for second. On the certainty to return to the final turn, he came over on Buen Camino, which forced sulky. He told HRU that Buen Camino to come over on Billy Flynn. The latter broke his doctors, citing the stride at that point. Not only was Pinkman taken down, but dangers of any potential so was his stablemate French Laundry, who crossed the future spills, have advised wire fourth. Under New York racing rules, all stablemates of him to retire, but he said horses causing an infraction must be placed behind any that's not a decision he is and all horses that were bothered. ready to make just yet. Both Gingras and trainer Jimmy Takter were clearly upset Sidelined by back and by the decision of the judges. neck problems, Pierce has "Pinkman is a horse that I love," Gingras said. "You want Ron Pierce may be forced to retire not driven since March 15. to have things done the right way and I strongly disagree His neck problems were with the disqualification. I don't blame the judges. They cleared up by an earlier surgery, but his back has remained have a job to do and I wouldn't want their job. But we're an issue. going to have to agree to disagree and this time I disagree. "You wouldn't believe how tough it is to recover from back I was close (to Buen Camino), but that was something that or neck surgery," he said. "Everything connects to those happens in every single race. If they're going to start taking spots, every nerve ending in your body. When they operate horses down for what happened in that race then there will be a disqualification in every race." (continued on next page) Takter wasn't happy that Smedshammer claimed foul, arguing that he crossed a line and that only the judges should initiate possible disqualifications. "That's why we hire judges," he said. "It doesn't bother me if I get taken down if it is done just by the judges. When a driver claims foul that's poor sportsmanship. So he just made $35,000. He needs money more than I do, with the way his stable is going." At least Gingras had something to smile about last night as he won the $500,000 Messenger with Revenge Shark. In the Arsenal cut the mile for Sears and was not pressed through a half in 56.4. Meanwhile, Revenge Shark sat third with Gingras waiting patiently to make his move. "I talked to some guys who drove the horse before and they said he's a really good sprinter," Gingras said. "Maybe first up is not his cup of tea, but sitting in the three hole and being able to sprint at the end would be something he would like." In The Arsenal, Dude's The Man and Revenge Shark all had their shot and little separated them at the wire. Revenge Shark paid $21.60 and went the mile in 1:53.1. It was by far the biggest win on the year for the son of Cam's Card Shark. "I always felt this horse would get a nice payday this year," winning trainer Tony Alagna said. "He's been knocking on the door and Yannick put him in a position to win." | share this story | HarnessRacingUpdate.com • 9/06/15 PAGE 3 of 18 on you back there, believe me, your body will definitely be Improving With Age, State Treasurer Helps mad at you. I've never been in as much pain as I've been in Waples Land a Stakes Trifecta Thursday into Friday. I couldn't sleep at all and there was Story by Perry Lefko; Photos by New Image Media no position I could get in that made me comfortable. CAMPBELLVILLE, ON - Earlier this year, State Treasurer "I know he did a lot of work back there, Dr. Schaeffer was known as a very good older pacer in Ontario, winning from New Jersey Spine and Orthopedics, but I can tell now the Molson Pace three years in a row in London, but oh how if my back is anything like my neck, I'm going to be so he's become better and better. happy. My neck was hurting me badly, but after he The six-year-old horse by operated on my neck he found pinched nerves and a Real Desire recorded his couple of fractures. He put in some new disks between the third major stakes win in the vertebrae and he filed everything down nice and smooth past four weeks, winning and then he injected me with my own plasma from my the $685,000 Canadian spine. It was a miracle. But my neck feels so good now. If Pacing Derby Saturday my back comes around 50% as good as my neck did, it's night at Mohawk Racetrack, going to be wonderful." beating a competitive field While confident that his quality of life will improve due to that included nine others, the latest surgery, Pierce is facing a serious dilemma about With a win in the Canadian including the great Foiled the rest of his career.