HAMBURG, N.Y. --- Studio City made it back-to-back victories in the $10,500 Open Trot at Buffalo Raceway by hanging on to beat Heartsaregonnaroll by a diminishing neck in 2:00 over the good track on Friday night (Feb. 14).
It was a nearly identical trip that Studio City ($12.80) had a week ago in winning the Open Trot. The 5-year-old gelding sat back and watched the action on the front end then made a three-wide brush midway down the backstretch the final time. Abundasass (Ron Beback Jr.) had set the fractions with times of 29.1, 58.3 and 1:29.2 but could only watch as Studio City (Aaron Byron) cruised on by at the top of the stretch.
Things got interesting late, however, as Heartsaregonnaroll (Billy Dobson) made a late run but came up a neck short as Studio City finished the mile in a seasonal best of 2:00. Abundasass took the show position.
Trained by Lisa Lederhouse and owned by Scott Woogen and Lisa Denison, Studio City (Conway Hall-Yagot Prestige) has now bankrolled $14,385 in 2014.
A 12-race program is slated for Saturday night at Buffalo Raceway with the first race field going to the post at 6:40 p.m.
by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway