Washington, PA — Vernon “Day At The” Beachy (Shake It Off Lindy) edged past Dante “The Inferno” Scattolini (Wilberforce) in a stirring stretch duel to win a division of Saturday’s (July 10) Great Lakes Amateur Driving Association (GLADA) leg at The Meadows. Stephen “You’re Never Too” Oldford (Blasco) also brushed late to capture the other $9,300 GLADA split.

Away from racing for three years while serving stallion duty in Maine, Shake It Off Lindy had only one win since returning to the wars. Beachy, his trainer and owner, was aware of that when he sent the 7-year-old son of Crazed-Nashville Lindy three-wide at the three-quarters.

“When I saw the straightaway, I wasn’t sure we could get there,” Beachy said. “The straightaway is a lot longer here than at Northfield. But he raced really well. I told Oldford before the race that this horse would surprise you guys soon. Today was the day.”

Beachy pursued Scattolini relentlessly and downed him by 1/2 length in 1:56.1, helping Shake It Off Lindy lift his lifetime bankroll to $223,364.  Michelle “The Belle” Ruvola (Time Outta Jail) and Oldford (A Royal Line) finished third and fourth, respectively.

Oldford, though, was far from finished. In the second division, he gave Blasco a ground-saving trip, hoping he would have enough racetrack left to catch the leaders.

“He’s not trotting the turns really well, so I had to be careful,” Oldford said. “Last time we were here, he ran on the last turn. So I kept him under wraps until the head of the stretch and turned him loose. I think that horse could go another half mile just like that.”

The 6-year-old Manofmanymissions-Zakanaka gelding did his part. Oldford overtook Jamie “Squirrel” Coffy (Rev It Up Man) in the shadow of the wire and defeated her by a head in 1:57.2. Conditioned by Terry Deters, Blasco now has earned $117,129 for Oldford Racing LLC.

Donald “Douger” MacDougall, Jr. (Cash For Gold) and “Tiny” Tim Miller (Dominus Hanover) completed the ticket.

Live racing at The Meadows resumes Wednesday when the program features a pair of stakes for freshman male trotters — a $125,000 (est) Pennsylvania Sires Stake and a $60,000 (est) PA Stallion Series event — as well as a $14,694.27 carryover in the final-race Super Hi-5. First post is 12:45 p.m.