by harness racing publicists across North America
The Friday (July 29) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Vernon Downs, Batavia Downs and Saratoga.
Oh No Three O from last to first in top Vernon Trot
Vernon, NY — Charlene Long’s Oh No Three O ($8.10) passed all four of his rivals in Friday (July 29) evening’s featured $8,000 Miracle Mile/Open Trot at Vernon Downs, accelerating once free in upper stretch to collar 3-4 favorite A Penny Earned in the last 40 yards.
Claude Huckabone, III settled Oh No Three O to the back of the compact field from the outset, taking no part in the pacesetting proceedings while A Penny Earned (Chris Lems) strode out to a clear lead via a blistering :26.2 first quarter. While Gimme the Cash (Jimmy Whittemore) made steady first-over gains to keep A Penny Earned from fully relaxing on the lead, Oh No Three O saved ground through a :58 middle half.
As the outer flow weakened off the far turn, Oh No Three O managed to gain third up the pegs and subsequently switched to the two-path just outside the eighth pole. He accelerated at once, mowing down A Penny Earned in deep stretch and sprinting off by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:53.4. Twice Too Nice (John MacDonald) was fully extended in her pursuit from the pocket, finishing another 3-3/4 lengths back in third.
Paul Long trains Oh No Three O, now a 30-time winner. The 1:53.4 mile was good for a seasonal mark and his fourth victory in 2016.
In the sub-featured event, a $5,500 Miracle Mile trot, My Lucky Word ($16.00) left from post 8 to secure a pocket trip behind Ozymandias (Roman Lopez) off a fast pace before pouncing in upper stretch for a 1:54.1 victory. Jimmy Whittemore drove the 4-year-old Lucky Chucky mare for owner Philip Hale and trainer David Dewhurst.
Live racing returns to Vernon Downs on Saturday (July 30) evening, with an 11-race card set to commence at 6:45 p.m. Eastern.
— by James Witherite
Batavia Downs
After taking a wait-and-see approach, J A T O (Mike Caprio) mounted a furious closing brush to capture his foes along with the winner’s share of the $10,000 purse in the Open trot at Batavia Downs on Friday (July 29) night. With the morning line favorite Lutetium scratched, a short but select field of five lined up behind the gate. It was a three-horse blast to be on the front as Studio City (Dave McNeight III), Noble Legend (Kevin Cummings) and Lucid Thoughts (Shawn McDonough) were spread across the track. Noble Legend eventually won the argument and the field settled in for the journey. The leader cut fractional times of :28.2 and:58.1 before Red Clay (Drew Monti) pulled and advanced to second by the three-quarters in 1:28.1. These two then trotted side-by-side, stride-for-stride around the far turn while J A T O (Mike Caprio) was winding it up from last in overdrive and began gobbling up ground. Caprio tipped three-deep at the top of the stretch and simply trotted away from the field from there, winning by two lengths in 1:58.4. It was the second win in only six starts this year for J A T O ($6.00) who is owned by Margaret Butler and Amy Butler and is trained by Alana Caprio. In the co-featured $8,400 conditioned trot, Leave Your Mark (Todd Cummings) took a quick, early lead and dictated the first three-quarters of the race. But around the last turn, Serious George (Kevin Cummings) tipped three-deep around Undercover Bro (Ray Fisher Jr.) and trotted his hips off down the lane to power by Leave Your Mark and win by one half-length in 1:59.2. It was the second win of the year for Serious George, who is owned by James Palladino and trained by Richard Mays. Drivers Kevin Cummings, Mike Caprio and Ray Fisher Jr. all had driving doubles and conditioner John Mungillo sent two winners to post. Racing resumes on Saturday night (July 30) at Batavia Downs with the first post set for 6:15 p.m.
Saratoga
Velocity Vespa (I Scoot Hanover) scored impressively in Friday’s (July 29) feature at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The 6-year-old mare was claimed last week by trainer Rich Banca and debuted in the $15,000 local Fillies and Mares Open on Friday night. Velocity Vespa sped out to the lead in a sizzling opening quarter paced in :26.1 and didn’t back things down much cruising through a first half in :55.1. Rival Bazooka Terror (Billy Dobson) moved first over on the leader at the half and those two squared off throughout the final lap before Velocity Vespa hit the wire first in 1:52.1. Bazooka Terror battled gamely to be the runner up in the Friday feature while the race’s favorite So Nice (Mark Beckwith) had to settle for minor spoils finishing third. Velocity Vespa, who was piloted on Friday night by Jimmy Devaux, won for the 12th time this year following a campaign in 2015 in which she scored 11 victories. The winner returned $7.10 to win and led an exacta and triple that paid $53 and $185, respectively. Live racing continues on Saturday (July 30) night with a first post time of 7:05 p.m.