Bit Of A Legend N put trainer Peter Tritton in the spotlight back in 2016 when he arrived on the scene and went on to win the George Morton Levy Series final at Yonkers Raceway. The celebrated son of Bettor's Delight would outdo his solid career in the Southern Hemisphere, going on to earn more than $1.9 million in North America before embarking on a second career as a stallion in Ohio. Now Tritton has a new Down Under-bred with similar characteristics named Mossdale Ben, a recent import that has captured three straight races at Yonkers and heads into this Monday's (March 17) Invitational at Yonkers. "I've been watching that horse closely for the last few years, and we finally had a chance to buy him," said Tritton. "He's out of a full sister to Mossdale Conner, the best horse I ever trained." Mossdale Conner's light shined only briefly in North America as Tritton had the good fortune to race the veteran in 2017 just six times before tragedy struck. "He had bleeding issues like a lot of horses that come over and we put him on Lasix," said Tritton of Mossdale Conner, who won his first three races at Yonkers in spectacular fashion before earning an invite to the Memorial Day feature at Harrah's Philadelphia. In that $150,000 contest, Mossdale Conner breezed to a 1:49 triumph over a solid field that included All Bets Off and Somewhere In LA. "At that point we decided to give him some time off and get him ready for the fall," said Tritton. But that plan never really worked out as Mossdale Conner's bleeding issues would worsen. "He was bleeding after doing light work," said Tritton, "So we had him checked out and they found that he had cancer in his lungs." A few months later Mossdale Conner would be put down, and Tritton spoke with reverence about his fallen warrior. "They had to do an autopsy afterwards for insurance purposes, and the vet that examined him, saw how far the cancer had spread and told me `This must have been the greatest racehorse of all time' given what he was able to do," said Tritton. Now, eight years later, Tritton is training Mossdale Ben, and while the son of A Rocknroll Dance has looked impressive this winter, the trainer doesn't expect him to do what his older relative did. "He's not the same caliber as Conner," said Tritton. "He's a solid horse that is easy on himself and knows what to do on the track." ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Mossdale Ben has won three straight times at Yonkers with Jordan Stratton guiding him from off-the-pace; somewhat reminiscent of the early stages of Bit Of A Legend's North American career. It's way too early to compare those two yet, but Tritton sees a lot of the same characteristics when it his current and former charges. "He just did what he had to do on the racetrack," said Tritton of Bit Of A Legend, and that's exactly what he has seen so far from Mossdale Ben. As for the three trips from off-the-pace, Tritton is ill-concerned that his horse won't be able to see the front end early in the mile. "That's just Jordan (Stratton) taking care of the horse for me. He does a great job." Mossdale Ben's most impressive performance came this past Monday (March 10) at Yonkers in a non-winners of $20,000 last five class race as Stratton looked to leave from the outside but elected to take back with horses pushing forward inside. On the move before the half, Mossdale Ben attracted reasonable cover but had a hard time gaining on the leader in a brisk third quarter. Stratton hardly moved a muscle in the bike, but it was clear when he called on Mossdale Ben there was plenty in reserve as he powered past the field in effortless fashion and scored in 1:52 4/5, with his final half in roughly 54 seconds. "He can leave the gate," said Tritton about racing tactics that will be necessary for Mossdale Ben to make the next step at Yonkers. "We've put him into the Borgata Series and I know the competition will be much stronger, but I think he'll do well," said Tritton, who recently celebrated his 74th birthday and has enough experience to know the characteristics of a solid racehorse. "I'm going to race him Monday (race seven, post two) and then probably give him a week off before the Borgata starts," said Tritton, aware of what it takes to make it through the grueling series and hopefully garner enough points to reach the final. Tritton has had good fortune with sons of Bettor's Delight as both Bit Of A Legend N and Mossdale Conner were by the brilliant sire. Mossdale Ben's dam is by Bettor's Delight as well. The 10-year-old New Zealander named Diego is another by the noted stallion that will be making his American debut shortly. Despite his age, Diego, with $637K in career earnings, was still racing against top-class horses in Australia last November. On the mare front, the Australian-bred Silk Cloud is being pointed towards the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series. The daughter of Shadow Play had the best year of her career in 2024, earning $215K with 10 wins in 27 starts for Tritton. "She hasn't been drawing too well," said Tritton of Silk Cloud, who landed post seven in a high-level conditioned race at Yonkers on Friday (March 14). Despite the hard luck draws, Silk Cloud finished second twice in Yonkers' Filly and Mare Invitational in February while displaying a solid closing kick, and should fit quite well among the mares in the Blue Chip Matchmaker. Tritton is hopeful that he has a 2-year-old filly in the stable that we could see on the New York Sire Stakes later in the year but reserved judgment on American Emily, a homebred by American Ideal and first foal from Kendra N, a mare that won a few races for Tritton in the top classes at Yonkers in 2020. It seems 2025 is shaping up to be a good year for Tritton. Time will tell.