Press release:
Two divisions of New York Sire Stake 2-year-old trotting colts converged at Batavia Downs on Wednesday night (Aug. 4) to compete for a total purse of $101,700 and when the dust settled, Molotov Cocktail stole the show with eye-popping domination in a runaway win.
Six trotters went postward for $50,400 and Scotty Zeron left hard with Molotov Cocktail (Chapter Seven-Moonlight Cocktail) from post five and got parked three-deep to the quarter in :28.4. But that difficult opening had no effect whatsoever on the colt who cleared, opened up two lengths, and then proceeded to annihilate the field.
Zeron hit the half in :58.3 and then backed off the third quarter to 1:28.3, but had also opened up a six-length lead at that point. Circling the final bend Molotov Cocktail stretched that margin to seven and then while Zeron sat chilly down the lane, the colt swelled up and extended his lead to 11 lengths at the light where he won in 1:57.4.
It was the second win of the year for Molotov Cocktail ($4.30) and both came in NYSS action. The colt is owned by Richard Gutnik, Thomas Pontone and Gary Cocco. Hall of Famer Linda Toscano trains the winner.
In the first $51,300 division, Quincy Market (E L Titan-Dance To Market) was a convincing gate to wire winner in a personal best effort.
Corey Callahan left like a rocket from post six in the field of seven with Quincy Market and took the lead three strides into the race. After settling on the pylons halfway into the turn, Grand Spa (Scott Zeron) followed in second and after two horses behind them broke at the eighth pole scattering the field, these top two were ahead by 15 lengths and it basically became a match race. The 7-5 co-favorites then continued to trot one-two in a :59.3 half and 1:29.2 three-quarters.
Quincy Market looked strong on the point and had a three-length advantage over Grand Spa in the last turn. At the top of the stretch, Grand Spa was still gapped and then made an unfortunate break, taking him out of contention. From there, Quincy Market trotted home under mild urging from Callahan and was the easiest of winners in 1:59.3, which was a new lifetime mark.
Quincy Market’s career outing was his second lifetime win, both coming in NYSS action and he hasn’t missed the board all year. Owned by Harmony Oaks Racing Stable, James Crawford IV, Berg Bros. Stable and the Yorwollahan Racing Team, Quincy Market ($4.90) is trained by John Butenschoen.
Jason Bartlett had another stellar night at the Downs scoring four driving wins during the evening.
Racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Saturday (Aug. 7) with post time at 6:00 p.m.
