It was déjà vu all over again in the $9,250 Open trotting feature at Batavia Downs on Friday (Oct. 10) when Justgottogetthere ($8.00) scored his second consecutive top-class triumph in convincing style.
Justgottogetthere (Jim McNeight) left quickly to take the lead before yielding to Armed Dangerously (Jim Morrill Jr.) at the quarter. The rest of the field watched in post position order as these two stood pat to the three-quarters in 1:27.2. At that point, Justgottogetthere pulled the pocket to challenge the leader and the duel began. The pair trotted as one around the far turn before Justgottogetthere gained the advantage and opened a little space before holding off a late charge from BZ Glide (Mike Caprio) to win in 1:56.4. That was a new seasonal mark for Justgottogetthere. BZ Glide was second and Armed Dangerously hung on for third.
It was the second straight Open class victory for Justgottogetthere and his third win in 12 starts for the year. The purse pushed his 2014 earnings to $25,440 for owners Antonietta Landi and North Creek Racing LLC. The five-year-old son of Valley Victor is trained by Jerry Nugent Jr.
The co-feature Open II trot went even faster than the headliner when Second Hand News (Kevin Cummings) led wire-to-wire to win by four lengths in 1:56 flat. Second Hand News' ninth win of the year tied his seasonal mark and inflated his bank account to $52,455 for owners Vogel And Wags Nags Stable and Kent Conshafter. Second Hand News is trained by Ron Van Wagoner.
Jim Morrill Jr. and Jim McNeight both scored driving triples while leading driver Kevin Cummings had a double.
(Batavia Downs)