With American Jewel Absent, Handsoffmycookie, Romantic Moment Impress at Yonkers

Tuesday, 17 July 2012 11:10

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By Bill Heller
After watching Handsoffmycookie and Romantic Moment dominate their $84,000-plus divisions of the Bruce Hamilton New York Sire Stakes Three-Year-Old Filly Pace at odds of 1-20 and 1-10 at Yonkers Raceway Monday night, it’s hard to believe there’s a three-year-old New York-bred filly pacer who is better than both. But there is: Romantic Moment’s stable-mate in Hall of Fame trainer Jimmy Takter’s barn, American Jewel.

               Tim Tetrick is the regular driver of American Jewel and Handsoffmycookie, but he has also driven Romantic Moment twice this year.
               “They’re all very talented mares,” Tetrick, North America’s leading driver in victories and earnings, said Tuesday morning.
               They’re just not quite as talented as American Jewel, who was rated as the No. 1 horse in the country last week before finishing second by three-quarters of a length as the 1-10 favorite to another three-year-old New York-bred star, Major Look, in 1:49 3/5 in the $190,950 Mistletoe Shalee Saturday night at The Meadowlands.
               “With American Jewel, I wanted to win, but it wasn’t like she got beat by a lot of lengths,” Tetrick said. “She ran in 1:49 3/5 and got beat less than a length. She raced good, but she didn’t race great.”
               At Yonkers Monday night, JFe Enterprises’ Handsoffmycookie, the defending NYSS Champion trained by Scott Di Domenco, and Brittany Farms’ Romantic Moment did race great, winning the second and fourth NYSS divisions. Sent off at 1-20 with Tetrick driving, Handsoffmycookie never had an anxious moment after making the lead from the four post in a :27 1/5 first quarter. Reeling off fractions of :56 3/5 and 1:24 4/5, she rolled home in 1:53 three lengths clear of New York Kitty in second. Ryder Blue Chip stormed home with a :27 2/5 final quarter to finish third.
               Handsoffmycookie, whose career record is 12 victories and five seconds in 17 starts, paid $2.10 to win and led a $3.20 exacta and $9.10 triple.
               Romantic Moment was driven flawlessly by Yannick Gingras Monday and scored wire-to-wire by a measured three-quarters of a length at 1-10 over Eighthunrdolarbill, the 3-1 second choice, in 1:53 3/5. Ramalam got up for third, Romantic Moment paid $2.30 to win and led a $3.00 exacta and $10.00 triple.
               Romantic Moment is now six-for-12 lifetime with three seconds and a pair of thirds. “She ran a good race again,” Takter said. “She’s a very good filly. You don’t win that amount of money if she wasn’t. She’s one of the best fillies in the country.”
               Romantic Moment’s best performance may have been in the $600,000 Fan Hanover Final at Mohawk Raceway when she finished second by a length in American Jewel’s World Record 1:48 2/5 mile.
               The other two NYSS divisions featured odds-on favorites as well, but neither got the job done. In the first division, West Wins and partners’ Zellweger Blue Chip, the 3-1 third choice trained by Casie Coleman and driven by George Brennan, rolled past the 4-5 favorite, Brownsville Bomber, for a length-and-a-half triumph in 1:54 1.5.
               Jk Fine Art went off at 1-5 from the six post in the third division. Jk Fine Art left, but broke soon after the start. Four of the five remaining horses battled the rest of the way while Jeff Gregory watched the action from last with 17-1 longshot Hearts N Flowers, who had raced earlier in the year in the easier Excelsior Series and was one-for-13 lifetime for trainer R. Nifty Norman and the Bay Pond Racing Stable. Marinade Hanover made the lead in early stretch for Tetrick, but had no answer for Hearts N Flowers, who won by three-quarters of a length in 1:55 3/5. Arm In Arm finished third. R. Nifty Norman trains Hearts N Flowers for Bay Pond Racing.
               There were bridge-jumpers who bet Jk Fine Art to show, so Hearts N Flowers paid $37.80 to win, $15.00 to place and $38.20 for third. Marinade Hanover returned $5.10 to place and $18.00 to show, and Arm In Arm paid $26.40 for show.
                               UPDATED STANDINGS for Three-Year-Old Filly Pacers
The top eight qualify for the $225,000 Final Night of Champions at Yonkers, September 22
1 – (tie) Major Look            150
       Eigthunrdolarbill          150
       Handsoffmycookie     150
   Romantic Moment        150
5.    Brownsville Bomber     104.5
6.    New York Kitty             104.0
7.    Jk Fine Art                   100
8.    Centralia Hanover      87
9.    Zellweger Blue Chip     81.5
10. Vanity Fairest               67
The top eight qualify for the $225,000 Final Night of Champions at Yonkers, September 22
The next NYSS for three-year-old pacing fillies is Sunday, August 19th at Batavia