Tioga: NY Sire Stakes won by Albergita Hanover, Think Of Galaxies

Albergita Hanover and Think Of Galaxies both picked up their first career wins after taking the pair of New York Sire Stakes divisions for 2-year-old pacing fillies that were held on Sunday afternoon at Tioga Downs.

In the first $49,500 grouping Albergita Hanover (Scott Zeron) got away in third while Rightfully Mine (Jason Bartlett) went to the lead, but Albergita Hanover's three-hole position would become a four-hole slot before the 28 1/5 opening quarter as Summer Rae (Jim Morrill Jr.) swung out from fourth and cleared Rightfully Mine to take charge in the second quarter.

Summer Rae went on to hit the half in 57 1/5, and it would be past that station that Zeron made his move with Albergita Hanover as he sent her first-over. Albergita Hanover gained quickly after being fed racetrack, and she paced up to Summer Rae and then went around her just after the 1:25 three-quarters. From there it was all Albergita Hanover as she opened up with every stride to the wire, winning by 10 1/2 lengths in 1:53 flat. Rightfully Mine wound up trapped on the inside until the lane where she found a seam on the pylons and came on for second, and Sea Of Love Bc (Jim Marohn Jr.) finished third.

A daughter of Roll With Joe, Albergita Hanover is trained by Linda Toscano for owners Seth Coen, George Derocker, her own Camelot Stable Inc., and Derrik Decker. Albergita Hanover, who was bred by Hanover Shoe Farms Inc. and fetched $55,000 at last year's Standardbred Horse Sale, won at second asking after coming in second in the sire stakes at Vernon on July 4. Albergita Hanover is out of former O'Brien Award and Breeders Crown winner Armbro Amoretto (Artsplace, 1:50 1/5, $1,285,744), making Albergita Hanover a half-sister to the likes of Bet You (Bettor's Delight, 1:50 3/5, $535,207). Albergita Hanover was the 1-9 favorite and paid $2.20 to win.

The complexion of the other $50,400 section changed on the first turn when the two favorites Test Of Faith (Marohn Jr.) and Easy To Please (Morrill Jr.), who were two-wide and three-wide respectively chasing after leader DC Batgirl (Billy Dobson) hooked wheels and lost their momentum. Taking advantage of their issues was Think Of Galaxies (Mark MacDonald), who brushed to the top after the 28 1/5 opening quarter and went on to the half in 56 1/5 and the three-quarters in 1:24 4/5.

Easy To Please and Test Of Faith would wind up first-over and second-over from third and fourth after the first turn incident, and Easy To Please's two-wide advance in the third quarter stalled out before three-quarters as Think Of Galaxies began to open up. Once she got a gap on the field there was no catching Think Of Galaxies as she hit the finish line 4 1/4 lengths ahead of Test Of Faith and stopped the clock in 1:53 2/5. Spicy Covina (Tyler Buter) was the third-place finisher.

There was an inquiry into the mishap on the first turn, and the judges ruled that Easy To Please had caused the wheels to hook between the two fillies, so no action was taken against Test Of Faith.

Think Of Galaxies is a So Surreal filly trained by John McDermott for co-owner/breeder Peter Kleinhans and co-owner Jonathan Klee Racing. Think Of Galaxies wound up fifth after making a break in the same sire stakes contest at Vernon that Albergita Hanover competed in, then came back to win a qualifier on July 11 at the Meadowlands in 1:53 4/5 with McDermott driving. Think Of Galaxies is the fourth foal out of Lightning D Dube (Western Ideal, 1:52 1/5, $99,819), making her a half-sister to Kid PK (Wearable Art, 1:49 1/5, $414,000). Think Of Galaxies was a 9-1 shot and returned $20.40 to win.