Driver Scott Zeron and trainer Linda Toscano joined forces with Grand Spa and Molotov Cocktail to win two of the three New York Sire Stakes divisions that took place on Friday afternoon at Vernon Downs. Cool Papa Bell improved his record to two-for-two in the sire stakes in the other section. In the first $33,600 split, Grand Spa went to the front from post three, put up well-rated fractions of 28 1/5, 58 2/5, and 1:28 3/5, and was able to keep clear to the wire, winning by a length and a half in 1:57 flat. Chapheart (Corey Callahan) was the runner-up, and Debs Prince Hall (Alek Chartrand) was third after sitting in the pocket. "I just let him go out of there comfortably the way he wanted to and I landed on front," said Zeron. "The tempo was good, and I made sure it was pretty even. My horse kind of felt (a first-over Jackson Steinem, piloted by Brian Sears) come up alongside of him and then took off. I let him do that, but he was really strong down the lane." A colt by E L Titan, Grand Spa is trained by Toscano for owner Bay Pond Racing Stable. Grand Spa, who was second in the first leg of the sire stakes on June 28 at Yonkers, has earned $28,791 to go with his 1-1-0 record. Bred by Winbak Farm, Grand Spa was a $28,000 purchase at last year's Lexington Selected Yearling Sale and is out of the Andover Hall mare Day At The Spa, making him a half-brother to Hell Patrol (Yankee Glide, 1:54, $142,061). Sent off at 3-1, Grand Spa paid $8.90 to win.     The last $34,200 flight saw Zeron and Molotov Cocktail float away from the outside post seven, then drive on to take command away from Velvet Style (Jason Bartlett) after the 28 1/5 opening quarter. From there, Molotov Cocktail went to reach the half in 58 1/5 and the three-quarters in 1:28, then trotted home in 29 seconds to defeat Velvet Style by a length and a quarter in 1:57. Barn Bully (Callahan) finished in third from first-over. "I was really out in no man's land that race. I tried to leave, and it wasn't working out real well since everybody else left pretty fast," Zeron stated. "I saw one breaker, and I was like 'okay just make sure I get ahead of that breaker,' then another breaker. I was out there all by myself, so I had no choice but really to press on to the front. Good thing he handled it well. "If anything he was a little green when he got up there, a little lazy. When he heard Jason's horse come off our wheel, he kind of went on by himself. He raced well." Richard Gutnick and Tom Pontone bred Molotov Cocktail, a Chapter Seven colt, 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 broke his maiden today after finishing third in the opening round of the sire stakes. He has pocketed $22,747 and returned $6.40 to win after being dispatched at odds of 2-1. Back in the second $34,200 sire stakes showdown, Quincy Market (Callahan), Branded By Lindy (Zeron), and Distance Learning (Sears) all left pretty quickly, but Branded By Lindy made a break entering the first turn, leaving Quincy Market on the point at the 28 3/5 opening quarter. Distance Learning then brushed to the lead in the backstretch, with Cool Papa Bell (Bartlett) also vacating the cones from third, but Distance Learning jumped it off racing to the 59 second half. Cool Papa Bell was able to get around the off-stride Distance Learning and landed on the front beyond the half, kept the top spot around the remainder of the final bend and through the 1:28 1/5 three-quarters, and held sway to the end, previaling by half a length in 1:56 2/5. Branded By Lindy, who recovered after his miscue, rallied from fifh to second in the final quarter, and Quincy Market checked in third. "The first turn was just weird. The race was changing constantly," remarked Bartlett. "Scott makes a break and that puts me third, and that was a bad spot. Then Brian moves, and then I move on Brian. His horse saw something, and he came out right in front of me. Usually when you have to check a 2-year-old trotter like that, it's not good. Usually they'll run, but he was pretty good. "I wasn't looking to cut it, I can tell you that. He raced off a helmet so well last week, but just the way the race was playing out, we were going so slow I had to move him. I watched him race last week, and he didn't even pull the plugs on him, so I knew he was a pretty good colt." Trained by Jim Campbell, Cool Papa Bell, a Chapter Seven-Blk Thai Optional (Muscle Hill) gelding, is owned by Runthetable Stables and has now put away $41,083 to go with his unblemised standing. Cool Papa Bell, who is a full brother to Aela Jamieson (1:55 1/5, $100,758), the runner-up in last year's New York Sire Stakes final for rookie trotting fillies, was bred by Belmar Racing And Breeding LLC. and was acquired for $100,000 at the 2020 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. Cool Papa Bell returned $7.80 to win as a 5-2 offering.