George W. Barker first stakes of the meet
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Finger Lakes kicks off its stakes schedule on Monday with the $50,000 George W. Barker Stakes, with stablemates Lady’s Golden Guy and Winston’s Chance, two-time defending race winner Flying Emperor, and local stakes winner Senbei highlighting the field.
The Barker, for New York-bred 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs, is the first of 14 stakes at this Finger Lakes meet, which opened in late April and runs through November. First post for the eight-race holiday Monday card is 1:15 p.m.
Lady’s Golden Guy, who will have regular rider Nazario Alvarado in the irons, and Winston’s Chance, with Jackie Davis picking up the mount, are both trained locally by Debra Breed. Lady’s Golden Guy has a recency edge over his stablemate. He won three races at Finger Lakes, including the Leon Reed Memorial, to end his 2022 campaign. He then opened this season with a front-running allowance victory going 4 1/2 furlongs against a solid field – 15-time stakes winner Dr. Blarney was second – on April 24, making it four straight wins.
Winston’s Chance, 10, is a two-time stakes winner at Finger Lakes and has been second or third in seven other stakes on his career, including in New York-bred stakes on the New York Racing Association circuit. Eyeing half a million in career earnings, he was last seen winning a Finger Lakes allowance-optional claiming race in July 2022.
Flying Emperor won the 2021 and 2022 editions of the Barker. His last win came in last year’s Barker, in which Winston’s Chance finished third and Lady’s Golden Guy was fourth. In six starts since then, Flying Emperor has four runner-up efforts. In his first start since last September, he was fifth in a May 15 allowance at Finger Lakes.
Senbei won the 2021 New York Breeders’ Futurity, the richest race annually contested at Finger Lakes. He owns two other stakes wins against New York-breds, and won the Gold Fever Stakes in May 2022 at Belmont against open company. He is making his first start since November and is trained by Christophe Clement.
Statebred stakes winner Lobsta is shipping in from Belmont Park for Gary Sciacca. Lobsta is looking for his first win since being placed first by the stewards in the Say Florida Sandy at Aqueduct in January 2022. When last seen at Finger Lakes, he finished third in the 2021 New York Derby, won by Americanrevolution, who became a Grade 1 winner later that season.
Disco Deano, Nueva York, Samay, Tommy the Torch, and Writer’s Regret complete the field of 10. Writer’s Regret was the runner-up in last year’s Barker.
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