Quarrel won a stretch dispute with Little Instigator and Unusual Clarity in the featured $10,563 fillies and mares conditioned pace at Vernon Downs on Friday, Nov. 14.

Coming off a win in the same class last week, Unusual Clarity (Ron Harp) went straight to the front and led to the quarter in :27.3 before getting a second-quarter breather through a half in :57 with the sophomore Little Instigator (Leon Bailey) following in the pocket. Chris Long made his move with  4-5 favourite Quarrel going first-up from fourth midway and took the lead racing on the outside heading to three-quarters in 1:25.3. As the distaffers reached the top of the stretch, Unusual Clarity and Little Instigator, who swung three-wide off the turn, battled with Quarrel, but the bettors' choice fought off her foes to prevail between the pair by a quarter of a length in 1:54.2.

A winner in four of his last six starts at Vernon, Quarrel paid $3.96 as the odds-on choice. Rob Harmon trains the six-year-old Always B Miki-Summer Mystery mare, a career winner of 23 races and nearly $350,000 in purses, for Florida's Karma Racing.

The win was one of four on the 14-race card for Long. Bailey drove three winners for trainer Gary Gibson and remains ahead of Long in the driver standings by three heading into closing night on Saturday. Gibson is tied with Michelle Warner in the trainer standings, with 38 wins a piece, while David Dewhurst is just one back headed into the season finale.

Capt Jack Hanover, trained by John MacDonald, was honoured on Friday as Vernon Downs's 2025 Pacer of the Year. The seven-year-old Captaintreacherous-Current Hanover gelding is owned by his trainer in partnership with Michael Kessler and Speed To Burn Racing. In 17 starts at the Miracle Mile meet, he had seven wins, five seconds and one third.

Post time for the final card of the Vernon Downs season on Saturday is 5:05 p.m. 

(Standardbred Canada & Vernon Downs)