Yonkers: Powerful Tritton trio could make serious noise in Borgata Series

Three years ago, Shane and Lauren Tritton made the cross-hemisphere journey to New York in hopes of duplicating the enormous success they achieved Down Under. Almost instantly COVID-19 hit and racing came to a halt.

Now, hardly overnight, the stable finds itself in a position of strength heading into the grueling, yet financially rewarding MGM Borgata Pacing Series at Yonkers Raceway. The premiere leg to the series finds four $50,000 divisions, with the Tritton team well represented in three.

Leading the pack has been the sensational Lochinvar Art A, an 8-year-old Australian champion that the Trittons feel privileged to be training and racing.

"We'd like this country to see the kind of horse he proved to be in Australia," said Shane Tritton.

In three races since his arrival in October 2022, Lochinvar Art A has been perfect, including his 1:51 victory on March 6 at Yonkers in preparation for Monday's Borgata leg opener when he drew post five in the third race first division.

"He knows his job," said Tritton of Lochinvar Art A, who came to the U.S. as a millionaire and could add to that substantially with a good run in the Borgata Series that offers five preliminary legs prior to a lucrative final on April 24.

Having campaigned Nandolo N to last year's Borgata final, Tritton has the experience it takes to manage a horse through the legs but wasn't tipping his hand yet as to schedule.

"Lochinvar Art A is the type of horse that bounces back better after a tough trip," Tritton said, suggesting he's not concerned with the rigors and will monitor the horse on a week-to-week basis. Lauren Tritton, who will drive Lochinvar Art A, knows the horse well and will be in the bike behind him in round one.

With 32 entered in the opening leg it appears that Lochinvar Art A drew into one of the weaker divisions, with last year's Borgata contenders Jack's Legend N (post seven) and Bee Two Bee (post eight) on the outside looking in.

Anothrmastrpiece N is a horse Tritton has been prepping for the Borgata Series, and the veteran drew post seven in the second division (race four) with Jason Bartlett in the bike.

"He's coming into the race in great shape," said Tritton. "He had a solid qualifier and lacked room finishing behind Leonidas A in his first start."

While not as battle-tested as his stablemates, Tritton revealed some of the reasons why Anothrmastrpiece N has not shown his capabilities locally.

"He was right there with Lochinvar Art in Australia. He may have been a better horse. He's had physical issues and we've given him time," said Tritton. "I think he might be a bit underrated with these horses, but I think he can compete with them."

Tritton will likely find out a bit more on Monday as his horse gets tested with a field that is led by Jimmy Freight (post post), a $1.6 million winner. Hellabalou (post one) makes his Borgata debut for the Burke stable and the veteran Backstreet Shadow (post five) returns to Yonkers following a 1:50 1/5 winning effort at the Meadowlands on March 11.

Nandolo N (post four, race nine) has been one of the best horses in training this winter, and Tritton hopes that carries through the Borgata Series. "When he's in good form he's a hard horse to beat," said Tritton, praising the 9-year-old gelding with 25 career wins and a bank account nearing $600K.

"He needs to race every week," continued the trainer. That's something Nandolo N hasn't done this year with regularity, having missed four weeks prior to his March 4 1:49 4/5 victory at the Meadowlands. In that race driver Jason Bartlett took Nandolo N to the front and then converted on a pocket trip.

"I was concerned with this series coming up that if he left the gate and got involved in too much action it wouldn't be good for him," said Tritton. "But Jason made the right decision and it worked out perfectly."

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As for Monday night and the Borgata Series, Tritton is confident in his horse and hopeful that the trips will work out right.

"He's fine when he can come up first-over," said Tritton. "It's the times that he's had to follow too many horses on the outside that things haven't worked out for him."

With three wins in five starts this year, Nandolo N appears primed for this series. He'll face seven rivals including American Courage, who won the MGM Grand Messenger Stakes fianl at Yonkers in 2021. Trainer Travis Alexander's New York-bred has won at Yonkers in all three seasons he's raced.

The luck of the draw found Tritton's threesome managing to stay out of what appears the toughest division as the last two Borgata Series champions – Funatthebeach N (post five, 2022 champ) and This Is The Plan (post eight, 2021) – meet a formidable cast in the sixth race. The field of eight finds the pair joined by two finalists from last year's Borgata Series, with Leonidas A (post seven) and Tattoo Artist (post four) both primed for the opening leg. This field gets even stronger with the presence of Aria Invitational winner None Bettor A (post three) and 2022 Borgata Series consolation champion Im Sir Blake A (post two).

For Tritton and his stable it's taken a few years to get to this spot, but the trainer is more than happy with where he and his barn stands right now and hopeful the worst (including eight inches of snow on Tuesday) is in the rearview mirror.

"It took some time to get the right mix of horses that will do here," Tritton said. "I'm happy with the group of older horses we have and the younger ones too."

Add to the mix the recent Irish import Harry Knows IR, who won by open lengths in 1:55 at Pocono on Saturday (March 18), and the stable is running on all cylinders.

"We've staked him pretty well for a horse that had just $40,000 in earnings," said Tritton of Harry Knows IR. "I've brought him to Yonkers to train him over the track and he was very good."

That likely sets up for Harry Knows IR first stakes engagement, the John Brennan Series at Yonkers, with a first leg on April 5.