Saturday evening saw last year's Tioga Downs driving champion Jim Marohn Jr. pick up right where he left off, as he swept both $14,000 feature races on Opening Night 2014 in the Southern Tier.
"The Mighty Mite Part Two" wasted no time establishing himself at the top of the driver standings, taking the $14,000 Open Trot with Splitsville ($3.90) in race one. After I Love New York (Bruce Clarke) and Grey Ice (Jim Meittinis) contested the early lead, Marohn brushed the five-year-old Hard Rock N Roll gelding to the fore with a circuit to go, pulling clear in deep stretch to a 2-3/4 length victory over Grey Ice in 1:56.2. Jaipur (Fern Paquet, Jr.), who had won his last two races at Vernon, finished third.
Marohn prevailed in the $14,000 Fillies and Mares Open Pace as well, digging in with pace-setting Southwind Trini ($17.00) to stave off a late bid from the pocket-sitting Whistys Paradise (Mike Merton) en route to a 1:53.3 victory. Asset Management (Fern Paquet, Jr.) rallied from far back to take third, just missing the second spot by a neck.
While Marohn Jr. scored another driving win with New York Attitude in a first-level conditioned trot, the sweep of the features also constituted a training double for Rob Harmon on the evening.
(Tioga Downs)