Yonkers: Put On A Show tries her luck on the half

The mare with the big resume finally tries the small track.

Put On a Show, the fastest mare of all time, makes her Yonkers Raceway--and small-track--debut Friday night, beginning behind the eight-ball in the $35,000 Filly and Mare Open Handicap Pace. Brian Sears does the sixth-race honors for trainer Chris Ryder.

The 5-year-old daughter of Rocknroll Hanover, co-owned by Craig Henderson and Richard & Joanne Young, invades Westchester with a sparkling 30-for-47, $2.35 million lifetime ledger. After spectacular seasons at 2 and 3 (a combined 19 wins, five seconds and nearly $1.9 million in 25 tries, plus divisional honors as a soph), Put On a Show missed her 4-year-old season with knee problems.

This season she's won half of her 22 starts ($465,203), including a life-best 1:47 3/5 Lady Liberty effort at the Meadowlands. Her latest outing--a try against the boys in the Breeders Crown at Woodbine--was fruitless, but she is back against her own gender here. 

According to reports, the plan is to retire Put On a Show sometime next season, and about all she hasn't done is try the tight turns. Her connections have indicated this is a "barometer" to see how she handles the half, so perhaps Friday's visit won't be just a drive-thru. 

Among those Put On a Show (8-5 morning line) opposes Friday are Royal Cee Cee N (George Brennan, post 7, 5-1), she with three wins and two seconds in her last five (local) tries, and Krispy Apple (Yannick Gingras, post 6, 5-1), who stormed home (with Sears) to win last week's distaff derby.  

Post time for the 12-race card is 7:10 pm.

-edited release (Yonkers)