Batavia: Quincy Market, Molotov Cocktail rule in NY Sire Stakes

Quincy Market and Molotov Cocktail rolled over their competition in taking their respective New York Sire Stakes sections for 2-year-old colt and gelding trotters on Wednesday evening at Batavia Downs.

In the first $51,300 flight, Quincy Market (Corey Callahan) and Grand Spa (Scott Zeron) quickly established position on the front-end and in the pocket after the start, and then ended up with a big advantage on the rest of the field after they got jammed up behind off-stride horses Snow Thunder (Kasper Foget) and Valentine Express (Kevin Cummings) on the first turn.

While that was going on in the back-field, Quincy Market was well-rated by Callahan through stations of 29 2/5, 59 3/5, and 1:29 2/5, got a gap on Grand Spa on the final bend, and then when Grand Spa ran coming off the turn, Quincy Market coasted home to a 3 3/4 length decision in 1:59 3/5. Secret Rule (Joe Bongiorno) rallied for second, and Cooper Ridge (Alek Chartrand) overcame an early break of his own to get third.

John Butenschoen trains Quincy Market, an E L Titan colt who has a record of 2-2-1 from five attempts and earnings of $65,062, for owners Harmony Oaks Racing Stable Inc., James Crawford IV, Berg Bros. Stable, and Yorwollahan Racing Team. Bred by Steve Stewart and Martti Ala-Seppala, Quincy Market, out of the Balanced Image mare Dance To Market and a half-brother to the exported Il Villaggio (1:51 4/5, $766,455), sold for $20,000 at last year's Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. He returned $4.90 to win.

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Molotov Cocktail (Scott Zeron) forged his way by Castle House (Foget) and Grey Clouds (Dan Daley) for command past the 28 4/5 opening quarter in the other $50,400 division and never had an anxious moment after that. He cruised to the half in 58 3/5, got separation from the rest of the horses on the way to the 1:28 3/5 three-quarters, and widened his margin through a 29 1/5 final kicker, hitting the wire 11 lengths to the good over T Rex Blue Chip (Bongiorno) in a 1:57 4/5 mile. Velvet Style (Jason Bartlett) made a break after the start but was able to gain positions to come in third.

A colt by Chapter Seven, Molotov Cocktail is trained by Linda Toscano. Richard Gutnick and Tom Pontone bred Molotov Cocktail and now share ownership of him with partner Gary Cocco. He's the first foal out of the Kadabra mare Moonlight Cocktail ($137,233, 1:53 2/5) and has two wins and a third from four trips behind the gate. He has pocketed $50,635 and paid $4.30 to win as the favorite.