On Wednesday, the 49th program of 2012 at Vernon Downs, Summertime
Lea (1:52.2) captured the fastest of three divisions in a $116,605 New York
Sire Stake for 2-year-old filly pacers; Jetta Blue Chip collected a
career-fastest 1:53.3 victory in the quickest of five flights of a $64,100
NYSS-sponsored Excelsior Series segment for state-bred frosh filly members of
the lateral gait; successful 11-year-old trotter Scorpion Moon earned his
87th career triumph and posted
a lifetime-best win mark that lowered his own season's fastest clocking
for representatives of the diagonal gait at the central New York track to
1:52.3, Jim Morrill, Jr., one of the Standardbred sport's top reinsmen, won five
of the evening's 12 pari-mutuel races, and leading driver Rick Plano posted his
5,990 career sulky score.
Morrill, Jr. did the teaming for trainer Ron
Burke in Wednesday's $39,335 seventh session as the favorite Summertime Lea led
from start to finish while securing her fourth first-place finish (plus a
second) in five official performances, bumping her bankroll up to $80,921 and
lowering her win-record to 1:52.2, which is just four-fifths-of-a-second off the
track record for this class (set by See You At Peelers in 2010). The swift-footed and steady-going bay
daughter of Lislea-Donna Summer is shared in ownership by Earl Smith, Frank
Baldachino Weaver Bruscemi and the Burke Racing Stable.
Wednesday's other NYSS divisional winners
were Ritascape (Artiscape-Rita J) in 1:52.4 for driver Jimmy Whittemore, listed
trainer Larry Rathbone and owners Connie and Homer Hochstetler and the South Of
The Tracks Racing stable, and Park N Orchard (Art Major-Allamerican Meadow) in
1:53.3 for driver Brian Sears, trainer/owner George Zitone and his partner Jay
Platt.
Morrill was also in the sulky in Wednesday's
$12,800 fourth event as Jetta Blue Chip (American Ideal-JK Good Vibrations)
collected her initial pari-mutuel victory for trainer Abe Stoltzfus and owner
Ernest Hartman.
Wednesday's other Excelsior Series scores
were registered to Ballineen (Art Major-Lislea Phia) in 1:54.1 for Morrill, Jr.,
trainer Stoltzfus and owner Hartman; R U
Ideal (Amerian Ideal-Ru In The Game) in 1:54.3 for driver/owner Pat Lachance and
trainer Richard Ringler; Minor Wisdom (American Ideal-Bettor Wisdom) in 1:54.4
for driver Mark MacDonald, trainer Chuck Connor, Jr. and the W Springtime Racing
Stable, and Sir Lehigh Z Tam (Art Major-Moss Blue Chip) in 1:56 for driver/owner
Lachance, the Z Tam Stables, Ira Rosenblum and trainer Ringler.
While logging three of his eight season's
scores at the Downs, Scorpion Moon has dropped the meet's fastest trotting miles
from 1:54 (May 18) and 1:53 (June 1) to 1:52.3.
The career-winner of $920,836 is currently owned by trainer Tracy
Brainard and Andrew Herzog.
Plano, who now needs just 10 tallies to reach
the prestigious 6,000 win plateau, scored with Richard C. Plano's trotter She's
All In in race three. The 3-year-old
filly became a five-time winner at the meet.
DOWNS DOINGS—Morrill, Jr. has recorded
six wins at the Downs twice this season and owns 32 first-place finishes in
limited appearances at the meet…Nine of the night's victors earned win marks…The
first-place finishes by Jetta Blue Chip and Ballineen were maiden
victories…Leading trainer Brainard also harnessed a pair of Wednesday
wins…Thursday's 11-race program, which includes an $11,000 Open contest for
female pacers, will begin at 6:55 p.m. and mark the start of Corntastic Weekend
at the track…Vernon will host a New York Sire Stakes-sponsored race for
3-year-old filly trotters this Saturday evening, Aug. 11… Additional information
regarding Vernon Downs, its casino, hotel, racing and promotional events can be
obtained at www.vernondowns.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment