Yonkers Set To Kick Off The Triple Crowns
At 0h33, on June 22, 2022 • By YONKERS
The Pacing and Trotting Triple Crowns get underway for 2022 with two $40,000 eliminations of both the MGM Yonkers Trot and MGM Grand Messenger Stakes on Friday night at Yonkers Raceway. The top four finishers from each race will advance to the finals on Friday, July 1.
All eyes will be on the filly Joviality S (post five, Brian Sears/Marcus Melander) in the first MGM Yonkers Trot elimination, where she will face six rivals. Joviality S won in New York Sire Stakes action at Yonkers on May 16 to begin her three-year-old season and then went to Vernon Downs and took another New York Sire Stakes leg and the Empire Breeders Classic for sophomore trotting fillies. Dover In Motion (post four, Jordan Stratton/Jamie Macomber), who has won nine of 11 career starts, invades from Indiana to tackle Joviality S.
Justice (post four, Ake Svanstedt) took the Empire Breeders Classic for three-year-old male trotters at Vernon last time out and leads the second MGM Yonkers Trot elimination. He’ll meet up with five foes, including Double Deceiver (post three, David Miller/Carter Pinske), a winner in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes competition last time out and the winner of the Kentucky Championship Series final as a freshman.
Gulf Shores (post three, Yannick Gingras/Brian Brown) tallied in the Ohio Sires Stakes at MGM Northfield Park on the 11th of June and ships in to headline the first MGM Grand Messenger Stakes elimination. Gulf Shores was the Ohio Sires Stakes champion in 2021 and then finished second, beaten just a nose, by eventual Dan Patch Award winner Monte Miki in the Breeders Crown final. Layton Hanover (post four, Matt Kakaley/Travis Alexander), a recent Pennsylvania Sire Stakes victor, will try to knock off the probable favourite.
Elimination two in the MGM Grand Messenger Stakes will see Hammering Hank (post three, Dexter Dunn/Brett Pelling) make his Yonkers debut. Hammering Hank won the Kindergarten Classic Series final in 2021 and returned to action with a third in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes at Harrah’s Philadelphia. He’ll try and best the likes of last year’s MGM Springfield Stakes champion Pleaseletmeknow (post four, Kakaley/Alexander) and Grand Circuit and Pennsylvania Sire Stakes winner Market Based (post five, Dunn also listed for trainer Nancy Takter.
