Yonkers: Alexander record-holder prepping Monday for Borgata final

Monday's final preliminary leg of the MGM Borgata Pacing Series at MGM Yonkers Raceway will find a few horses still looking for a spot in the lucrative final, while others will be marking time and hoping to peak at the right moment with big money on the line.

Trainer Travis Alexander had a solid group heading into the series and finds himself with two of his three stars in action on Monday, with new track record co-holder Backstreet Shadow already assured a berth in the final. None Bettor A, the winner of last year's Aria Pace on International Trot Day, has not been as fortunate and will need some luck to reach the final.

Missing from Monday's line-up will be leg-winner American Courage.

"He bled last week," said Alexander when asked about the absence. "It was a three on a scale of one-to-five, and he should be fine and back next week. It's going to be tough for him to make the final now."

While that may be true, American Courage will likely go in a consolation on April 24, and that could prove to be a much easier race for the son of American Ideal.

"It's tough," said Alexander. "Last week Matt [Kakaley] thought that [American Courage] was going to go a bigger trip at the half than Backstreet Shadow went [1:49 3/5]. At the three-quarters that changed."

While American Courage will sit this round out, Backstreet Shadow will likely be part of a field on Monday (race six) with three other finalists, and that suits his trainer just fine.

"He drew outside and he can just get away at the back and hope there's plenty of speed to chase down," said Alexander, recognizing win or lose Backstreet Shadow's most important race will come a week later.

Purchased by Bob DiNozzi following last year's TVG final, Alexander made a decision that has proven to be rock solid.

"I was delighted when Bob gave me the chance to train the horse," Alexander said. "At the time there really wasn't anywhere to race him, so I sent him to my good friend Jim King Jr. to race at Dover. He did a great job with the horse and got him ready for the series."

With his off-the-pace style, Backstreet Shadow was a bit too far back in races where the early pace was not strong. That gave him two third-place finishes heading into the third leg, but since then things have worked out much better. A 1:51 3/5 win over 2021 Borgata champion This Is The Plan on April 3 was followed up by his track record-equaling 1:49 3/5 victory on April 10.

"He surprised me," said Alexander. "I really didn't expect that 26 [second] third quarter."

Racing style and versatility play a major role in winning half-mile track races, and the 8-year-old Backstreet Shadow has been a strict off-the-pace horse at Yonkers, but Alexander won't be fooling with that anytime soon.

"He's a horse that can get a bit too fired up once sent to the front. Timmy [Tetrick] tried that at Dover and wound up getting caught," said Alexander.

Realistically, the Borgata final in most years has been a contentious race and given many off-the-pace horses the edge at the finish.

One horse that has modeled his success in the Borgata the exact same way is in Monday's line-up along with Backstreet Shadow. Defending champion Funatthebeach N was also winless in the opening two legs but has since come around with two powerhouse performances. Last week he out-sprinted Idealsomemagic A as the two dueled side-by-side for much of the final-half. The 1:50 1/5 mile was his best of the season that has included five other winning performances in his 11 starts. Funatthebeach N and Jordan Stratton drew post four, with the pair assured a spot in the final.

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Jimmy Freight has also qualified for the final with a win and three seconds in four rounds, and he landed the pole position on Monday. The Brett Pelling-trained son of Sportswriter was a strong second to Backstreet Shadow and could find himself in controlling position on Monday with others in the field perhaps not wanting to be too aggressive with big money riding seven days ahead.

Idealsomemagic A (post six) has two wins in the series and lost no stature with his second-place finish behind Funatthebeach N last week. A winner from off-the-pace in the opening leg, the Cory Stratton-trained import may revert to that style.

The Alexander-trained None Bettor A has drawn well in the series but been victim to circumstances beyond the trainer's control.

"He's been stuffed behind Tattoo Artist on a few occasions when that one gave up the lead," Alexander said.

With a second and two thirds, None Bettor A will need a win on Monday if he's to have any chance at all of reaching the final, and the trainer suggests they won't be holding back.

"We're going to send him out of there," Alexander said. While that strategy could help, None Bettor A (post three) will have his work cut out in the final (eighth race) of three $50,000 Borgata divisions on Monday. The aforementioned Tattoo Artist (post two) needs a win as well to have any chance of returning to the final. Hellabalou (post one) has a first and two seconds in the series and should advance regardless of his finish on Monday. Leg winners Covered Bridge (post four), Leonidas A (post five) and Hemsworth N (post seven) add incredible depth to this division, with Covered Bridge trending in the right direction following his fourth-leg 1:50 2/5 score.

Lochinvar Art A was already assured a spot in the final when he missed round four, but the Shane Tritton-trained 8-year-old returns for leg five in what appears the softest of the three divisions (race three). Lochinvar Art A drew the pole in the field of six, with none of his five rivals capable of reaching the final. Still, This Is The Plan (post six) may have something to say about the outcome of this division, as the Ron Burke-trained $2.9 million winner has been a victim of some tough trips and tougher rivals over the first four legs and could find the front for driver Yannick Gingras.

A dozen races are on tap for Monday with first post scheduled at 7:00 P.M.