Pacer Mystical Valentine shrugged off a rise in class and captured Saturday night’s $10,000 Open feature at Vernon Downs

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Fresh off a 1:54.2 tally in Open-2 competition here last week, Mystical Valentine ($19.00) zoomed out for the early lead, then drafted along behind Diamond Stick Pin until the stretch drive, where he battled back to the top and held off the on-rushing Hes Gorgeous by three-quarters of a length in Saturday’s 10th contest. Diamond Stick Pin finished third in the 1:51.2 mile.

It was the second win in succession and the fourth in seven season’s starts for the five-year-old son of Dream Work-Sneakheravalentine, who now sports 17 lifetime victories and winnings of $267,277. Frank Milby, sitting in for former track training champ Dave Dewhurst and owner Philip K. Hale, completed a driving double during the 12-race card.

Mystical Valentine’s 1:51.2 clocking was just one-fifth of a second off the meet’s fastest mile, set by the pacer Dry Gulch on April 23

(Vernon Downs)