After hitting the board in three previous attempts at Batavia Downs, Won Surreal Deal finally cracked the winner’s enclosure there after a sharp outing in the $15,000 Open I Handicap pacing feature for fillies and mares on Wednesday night (Oct. 11).
A three-mare melee left the gate that saw Miss Rockadali (Jim Morrill Jr.) and Louie The Lilac (Kevin Cummings) take turns at the top, approaching and just past the :27.2 quarter. Louie The Lilac finally settled on the point and barked the orders until Won Surreal Deal (Kyle Cummings) pulled from fifth at the half with cover and made her way to second at three-quarters. By the top of the stretch, Won Surreal Deal took over the lead and then held off a late rush from both Center Attraction (Jim McNeight Jr.) and So Amazing (Dave McNeight III) to win by a length in 1:56.1.
The win was the fifth of the year from 22 starts for Won Surreal Deal ($17), who is owned by Parsimonious Racing and trained by Jeff Sorenson.
Earlier in the $11,500 upper level pace for fillies and mares, P L Notorious (Kevin Cummings) sat second behind Imprincessgemma A (John Cummigs Jr.), who did the heavy lifting on the front end until the top of the stretch where P L Notorious tipped and paced away down the lane to a convincing two-length win in 1:55.3.
After four consecutive second-place finishes, P L Notorious ($4.90) got her third win of the year from 33 starts for owner Mike Torcello. Sam Smith trains the winner.
P L Notorious was one of five winners for Kevin Cummings during the night as he also won with Rd Skippy (1:56, $9.50), Johnny Boy (1:58.4, $5), Isla Seelster (1:58.2, $2.90) and Millies Spirit (1:57, $4.70).
Jim Morrill Jr. also had a big night with four driving wins while trainers Sam Smith, Dave Russo and Kevin Reynolds Jr. all had two wins apiece.
Live harness racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Friday, Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. and there will be a $4,954 carryover in the Jackpot Hi-5 pentafecta wager in race 13.
(With files from Batavia Downs)