Yonkers: Cruzado Dela Noche upsets in thrilling renewal of International Trot

Cruzado Dela Noche pulled by far the biggest upset since the reboot of the International Trot, winning this year's edition of the $1 million event at Yonkers Raceway at odds of 30-1. Driven by Brian Sears, Cruzado Dela Noche covered the mile and a quarter distance in 2:24 3/5.

The complexion of the race changed on the first turn when both Elitloppet champion Ringostarr Treb (Wim Paal) and Pastore Bob (Johan Untersteiner) made breaks. That left Ariana G (Yannick Gingras) in the lead, but Arazi Boko (Alessandro Gocciadoro) pressed on and was able to clear passing the 28 2/5 opening quarter. Gingras didn't want the pocket, though, and he would move Ariana G back into the lead after letting Arazi Boko clear.

As Ariana G was re-moving to the lead, Marion Marauder (Scott Zeron) was watching from the first-up slot, and he would move take over as the field passed the 57 1/5 opening quarter. When Marion Marauder cleared, that left Lionel (Goran Antonsen) first-up and Cruzado Dela Noche and Sears second-over.

Marion Marauder would go on to click off three-quarters in 1:27 flat, but Lionel was determined on the outside and wouldn't go away, and then Sears came out three-wide as they trotted through the backstretch for the final time, leaving them three-in-a-line at the 1:55 3/5 mile mark.

The three-high battle continued around the final turn, but both Lionel and Cruzado Dela Noche put Marion Marauder away for good off the last turn. Lionel had the jump on Cruzado Dela Noche and looked like he might get home on top, but Sears kept his charge to his task and got up late to win by a head. Up And Quick (Jason Bartlett) came on after an inside trip in mid-pack to get third, Ariana G was fourth, and Marion Marauder ended up fifth.

Ringostarr Treb, who was the favorite, ended up ninth after his early break. Paal said that Ringostarr Treb was perfect away from the gate but got a little crooked in the turn and he couldn't get him straightened out.

As for Sears, this was another feather in his cap during his Hall of Fame career, and another landmark moment just in 2018, joining his 10,000 career win achievement.

"The trip went out perfectly. I thought I might have three-deeped him a little early, but I was a little nervous that someone might have been coming at the time," Sears said. "The horse trotted hard right to the wire, and he raced super. I knew a couple of them made breaks, but I was really happy with my spot and I had cover. Like I said, I was really thrilled with the trip. I thought maybe I three-deeped him a little early, but at least I put some pace on Lionel. If I didn't go he wasn't going to be used that much.

"It's thrilling, no doubt about it, to win the Yonkers Trot and the International Trot. It's such a big race. You don't get very many opportunities to get it done. It's great to have that on my resume."

Marcus Melander trains Cruzado Dela Noche, a 6-year-old Muscle Massive stallion, for owner Courant Inc. This was his 15th career victory, and he went over the $1 million mark in career earnings. He returned $62.50 to win.

"A little bit (surprised he won)," admitted Melander. "We had two qualifiers at Pocono, and we weren't really sure if he was 100 percent in form for this race. Even if he was good in those two qualifiers, he didn't have a real race for almost three or four months. He showed us that he was in the right shape.

"We train our horses a lot - long miles and intervals. He's used to a mile and a quarter from Sweden, so the distance was actually the least of my concerns today. That was never among my concerns, no."Derick GiwnerA happy International Trot winner's circle

Cruzado Dela Noche started his career in North America, racing for trainer Nancy Johansson and Courant Inc., so this was a successful homecoming for the Hanover Shoe Farms Inc.-bred. He still has the Breeders Crown on his schedule here before the end of 2018.

"We raced the spring races in Sweden, and then we had staked him for the Breeders Crown," said owner Anders Strom. "We also staked him for Kentucky, actually, but we had some troubles with the papers, so he was a few weeks late here. He did the quarantine and did all the tests, and then he did two good qualifiers with Marcus (Melander) and Marcus Schoen at Pocono. I thought this race would come a little bit too early, so I was hoping for a top-three place unless we got great racing luck, and we did.

"Normally this horse is better in the second and third start after a break. It's just that it's a mile race, and I think this horse has the benefit of racing the mile and five-eighths. With a mile race, the other horses are used to it, and this one is used to the longer races. We hope for the best and the horse can continue and have a good end of the season."

As for the plans for 2019 and beyond, Strom remarked, "He is qualified for stud in Sweden, so the plan was to stand him there next year, but we haven't decided finally yet. We'll see after the season. If I have to race against Six Pack in the open next season it's going to be difficult, so we'll see what happens."