Double millionaire Vintage Master earned his third consective victory with a front end effort in the $60,000 Open Pace at Harrah's Chester on Sunday afternoon while Stonebridge Tonic's own win streak came to an end
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Driven by Dan Dube, the parked out five-year-old son of Western Ideal cleared the lead after the :26.2 opening quarter mark ahead of favourite Meirs Hanover (Yannick Gingras). Vintage Master raced past middle panels of :54.1 and 1:22.1 while turning back a challenge from first over attacker Pangiorno (George Napolitano Jr.). The 5-2 second choice then held off the pylon-skimming Meirs Hanover to nab the 1:50.1 victory by a nose. Rockincam (Dave Miller) finished over two lengths behind in third and P H Jackpot (Mark Lewis) was fourth. The well-travelled Stonebridge Tonic (Andy Miller) saw his win streak come to an end in the afternoon's feature event. He was looking for his eighth consecutive win at his sixth racetrack, but finished fifth off a second over trip.
Vintage Master paid $7.20 to win. Bred and owned by Kentucky's Brittany Farms and Brian Monieson Revtrust of Illinois, the Jimmy Takter trainee entered the race off a pair of 1-1/6-mile victories at Yonkers Raceway. Vintage Master, runner-up in the Dan Patch earlier this year, recorded his fifth win in 17 starts this year and pushed his 2011 earnings to $219,480.