When veteran trainer Paul Blumenfeld found out over a year ago that his stable star and millionaire Sapphire City was being sold it left a huge void. “I was crushed,” said Blumenfeld. “I just got a call one day and the owner said it was a business decision. To me it was the same thing as if the owners of Foiled Again decided to put the horse in a claiming race.” Surprised for sure, but Blumenfeld recognized that whether he liked it or not the horse business was in fact a business and Sapphire City was sold to continue his racing career for other connections. Now more than a year later, Blumenfeld has built back his stable of 30 and has the kind of talent necessary to compete at the highest level. This weekend three of his elite horses will compete at Yonkers Raceway in the Blue Chip Matchmaker on Friday and Saturday’s George Morton Levy series. Vintage Babe, who drew post three in the second of five Blue Chip Matchmaker divisions on Friday (race 4), was purchased last September. “At the time we thought she was the type of mare that would do for this series. It’s taken some time but I was happy with the way she raced last week,” said Blumenfeld. Vintage Babe finished fourth beaten three lengths to Twinkle in the first leg of the series last Friday at Yonkers. “She’s a big mare but she gets around the half-mile track well,” said Blumenfeld. Vintage Babe faces a solid field including first round dominant winner Shartin N (post 4). Motu Moonbeam N has been a solid campaigner since brought here from New Zealand in 2016. “She’s a very nice mare. You can do anything you want with her, she’s quite versatile,” said Blumenfeld. “She’s also very tough and will give it her all.” Motu Moonbeam N landed post seven on Friday in the fourth Blue Chip Matchmaker division carded as race six. The 6-year-old by Bettor’s Delight has most definitely matured over time and appears to be racing much better this winter. Already an earner of $56,600 in nine starts this year, Motu Moonbeam N is fresh off a solid second-place finish in the opening leg to Shartin N. “She got sick last year and we had to shut her down for a while,” said Blumenfeld as the reason Motu Moonbeam N made but 17 starts during her 5-year-old season. Motu Moonbeam N is in with a competitive group, with all seven mares looking for their first victory in the series. H P Sissy (post 1) and Jag Out (post 2) are the logical favorites in this division. When Blumenfeld had Sapphire City he was a regular in the Levy series. The veteran warhorse was an Open campaigner at Yonkers under Blumenfeld for over five years. It would be hard or near impossible to replace that kind of horse, but when the stable acquired Luciano N last year they expected him to be the type that could fill Sapphire City’s shoes to some degree. “He was racing against some of the better ones over there,” said Blumenfeld of Luciano N. “With him there’s always been something that has kept him from performing at a top level.” Yet persistence has a way of paying off and Blumenfeld has remained confident that the son of Bettor’s Delight would at some point show his true colors. “Over the last few months he’s gotten better and better,” said Blumenfeld. “Brent (Holland) got off the bike last week and told me he was full of pace.” Indeed Luciano N came from far back in last week’s opening leg of the Levy to finish fourth just beaten three lengths in a sharp 1:53 mile. That’s not something that happens everyday when a horse goes to post at odds in excess of 100-1. “Everything with him seems to be falling place at the perfect time,” said Blumenfeld of Luciano N. At the same time the trainer was hardly jumping for joy despite drawing the pole in Saturday night’s final of four Levy divisions. “There’s some very good ones in there,” said Blumenfeld. More specifically, Luciano N will meet a pair of first round winners in Rockin Ron (post 2) and Mach It So (post 8).  Also in this division is the recent import Waikiki Beach A, a disappointment in the opening leg that just may have needed some time to acclimate after arriving from Florida. Yonkers Raceway hosts a dozen races on Friday and Saturday nights with first post at 6:50 p.m.