Trotter Yankee Manny continued to display winning form in a 1:55.1 performance during Friday night’s $10,000 Open-1 contest at Vernon Downs
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Trainer Frank Davis was at the controls as favourite Yankee Manny ($3.20) flashed to the front early in the featured seventh race for square-gaiters and maintained his advantage to the finish, holding off the surging Mr Avalanche by one-half of a length.
Friday’s first-place finish was the third in a row for the five-year-old son of Yankee Glide-Yankee Minuet, who now sports seven current victories and 18 lifetime tallies. The career winner of $93,302 is owned by Brian Green. The final time was one-fifth of a second off the record mile that the bay gelding produced at Vernon last Friday.
Salome Marvel converted a pocket-sitting trip into a 1:56.2 triumph in Friday’s $6,500 secondary feature, Race 9, with Frank Milby doing the teaming for trainer John McNeil III and owner Ben McNeil.
Rick Plano continued his hot hand, winning with the trotters Largent Hall (1:58.4) and Enlightened (1:58.3) to notch his 11th driving double of the meet, his sixth victory of the weekend and his 62nd after 74 current Vernon programs.
Driver Claude Huckabone III and leading trainer Tracy Brainard also combined for a pair of first-place finishes during Friday’s 10-race card.
(With files from Vernon Downs)