(Above, Bourbon Express with driver Jason Bartlett.)
By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs
The New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) 2-year-old colt and gelding trotters invaded Batavia Downs on Wednesday (Aug. 7) and they did some damage to the record book by breaking the local mark for their age, gender and gait in two successive series races.
In the first $52,000 division, Bourbon Express (RC Royalty-Kasha) was sent down the road by driver Jason Bartlett and once gone, the pair never looked back. Operating with a gapped advantage, Bourbon Express went quarters of :28.4, :59.2 and 1:28.2 before rounding the last turn and heading into the stretch with a two-length lead. From there he trotted home a wrapped-up winner by four-lengths in 1:57.3.
The time was a new lifetime mark for Bourbon Express and also a new Batavia Downs track record for 2-year-old trotting colts. The former mark was 1:58.1 set by Zack’s Zoomer in 2016.
“This horse is very handy, he doesn’t act like a 2-year-old,” Bartlett said. “He’s a real nice colt.”
It was the third win of the year for Bourbon Express ($5.90) who started 2019 as a winner in Excelsior “A” action. Now he has won two NYSS races. Those victories have earned $78,008 for his owners Salvatore Vullo, James De Armond and Jessica Okusko, who also trains the winner.
Annette Roydon bred Bourbon Express.
(Above, Barn Holden with driver Andy Miller.)
Then two races later in the second $51,000 division, Barn Holden (Conway Hall-Barn Babe) and driver Andy Miller seemed to be taking the record-breaking seriously as they were on a mission as soon as the gate released them. Barn Holden was on top by three at the quarter and that margin would only grow as the race progressed.
After a :28.2 and :57.4 first lap, Barn Holden opened up four lengths by the three-quarters in 1:27.1 and five by the top of the lane. Miller however kept his colt to task and tapped the wheel disk twice in the straight and raised the lines mid-stretch and Barn Holden trotted away to an eight-length win in 1:57.1, eclipsing the mark set less than an hour earlier by Bourbon Bay and becoming the new Batavia standard-bearer.
“I thought he was the best going in and I wanted the front,” Miller said. “He trotted very handily to the wire.”
Barn Holden ($2.70) has now won three out of his last four races, all in NYSS action, and has an even $90,000 on the card for his efforts. Steve Pratt, Nancy Pratt, the Purple Haze Stable and the Out In The Country Stable own the top points and money earner in his NYSS division.
Steve and Nancy Pratt bred Barn Holden.
Andy Miller had a big day at Batavia winning four races on the card and posting a stout .814 Universal Driver Rating (UDR) for the six races he was in. Those wins included both $15,000 divisions of the Excelsior “A” series and those horses were both trained by the other half of Team Orange Crush, Julie Miller.
Book Seven (Chapter Seven - Tantalizing Donna)
Driver -- Andy Miller
Owner -- Stroy Inc.
Trainer -- Julie Miller
Breeder -- Winbak Farm
Time -- 1:59
Mutuel -- $7
All Profit (Credit Winner -- Bambino Supreme)
Driver -- Andy Miller
Owner -- Andy Miller Stable and Kapildeo Singh
Trainer -- Julie Miller
Breeder -- Steve Jones
Time -- 2:02
Mutuel -- $10.20
Jason Bartlett, who just scored his 8,000th driving win this past June, added three more to his total after getting a hat trick on Monday. Like Miller, Bartlett’s percentage for his eight drives was stellar as well, as he ended the evening with a .597 UDR.
Batavia Downs perennial driving leader Kevin Cummings was involved in a spill before the start of the third race when the horse he was driving fell behind the gate. Cummings was transported to the hospital for further evaluation and no further information is available at this time.
Racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Saturday (Aug. 10) with post time at 6 p.m.
