As the weather gets cold, Voltina gets hot, and she proved it by winning the $10,000 Fillies and Mares Open Handicap Pace at Batavia Downs on Wednesday evening (November 29), which was her third victory in her last five starts in the top class.
Voltina (Kevin Cummings) fired off the gate and took the lead with lightning speed. Squeeze This (Billy Davis, Jr.) also left from post seven, but took a quarter mile to clear. As soon as she did, Voltina came right back to grab the front, and that was all she wrote.
As Voltina took the field to the half in :57.2 and three-quarters in 1:26, she scoffed at minor challenges from Hey Kobe (Shawn McDonough) and Who Says That (Ray Fisher, Jr.) and kept to her task around the final turn. As they headed down the lane, Cummings was flailing the lines and opened up a two-length advantage with Voltina looking lively, but one last test came from Mydelight Bluechip (Ben McNeil), who shook loose in the passing lane and came with a rush. Voltina, however, was stout and hung on to win by a length in 1:55.2.
Having the best year of her life, Voltina ($8.20) scored her eighth victory of 2017 and bolstered her wallet to $69,456. The seven-year-old daughter of Allamerican Native is owned by CHS Racing, LLC and is trained by Anthony Cummings.
In the co-featured $8,000 distaff Open II, Little Joke (Davis) took back and followed quick early fractions before pulling second-over at the half behind America Ferrera (Kevin Cummings) and eventually overtaking her at the top of the stretch before pulling away to a six-length romp in 1:55.
Now two-for-two since arriving at the Downs, Little Joke ($6.00) has eight wins and $51,435 on the year for owners Vogel & Wags Nags Stable and Jack Rice. Maria Rice trains the winner.
Driver Kevin Cummings, who continues to be the hottest driver on the grounds at Batavia, scored four more wins on Wednesday night. Besides taking the feature with Voltina, he also won with Fie Fy Fo (1:57.1, $9.70), Our Last Photo (2:00.1, $3.20), and Goldstar Thumper (1:57.3, $53.00).
In the last 10 cards of racing at Batavia, Cummings has won 28 races and now has 102 wins for the meet. He currently sits in fourth place for dash wins behind Larry Stalbaum (117), Ray Fisher, Jr. (114) and Drew Monti (110) and, with seven nights of racing left, has a legitimate shot at the driving title.
Racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Friday (December 1) at 6:00 p.m.
(Batavia Downs)