by John Horne, for Vernon Downs
Vernon, NY — Atlanta ($2.10) won the second of two divisions of the New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) for sophomore trotting fillies at Vernon Downs on Thursday (July 19), anchoring a Scott Zeron driving hat trick at the Miracle Mile.
Repentance (Jim Morrill Jr.) was first to the quarter in :27, before Atlanta stormed to the front just after the quarter and controlled the race the rest of the way through splits of :57, 1:26.4 and 1:53.4 while never in doubt. Lucky Ava (Åke Svanstedt) was second best with Repentance getting third money.
Scott Zeron drove the daughter of Chapter Seven for the partnership of trainer Rick Zeron, Crawford Farms, Howard Taylor, Holland Racing Stable and Bradley Grant. She is now five-for-five this season and a winner of nine of her 14 career starts.
In the first division, Lima Novelty ($3.40) and Scott Zeron brushed from fourth to clear early leader Ciao Dolce (Svanstedt) before hitting the half in :57. She continued to lead, hitting three-quarters in 1:26.1 while Ciao Dolce followed in the pocket until mid-stretch, when she angled out to battle late. Lima Novelty dug in and held on to win in 1:54.1. Ciao Dolce settled for second while Tribute To Seven (Matt Kakaley) fired late to finish third.
Lima Novelty, also by Chapter Seven, is owned by Ken Jacobs and trained by Linda Toscano. She won for the fourth time this season and the eighth time in her career.
Scott Zeron won three on the night, also winning with Russian Spy ($4.40). Matt Kakaley visited the winner’s circle three times on the night as well, teaming up with Talkoholic ($48.00), Byway ($10.20) and White Cheetah ($5.90).
Live racing returns to Vernon Downs on Friday (July 20) with an 11-race card starting at 6:10 p.m.
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- Atlanta headed to Hambletonian (Saturday, July 21, 2018)
The conjecture throughout the sport in recent weeks on whether super filly Atlanta would take a shot against the boys in the Hambletonian is no longer necessary as of Saturday (July 21). The decision is in and according to trainer Rick Zeron, it was made weeks ago. Fotowon photo.