Taking advantage of live cover just as he did in his two previous races, Valley Of Sin ($9.00) kicked clear in his seasonal debut among Open company, impressively capturing the $14,000 featured trot on Saturday (June 20) evening at Tioga Downs.
After getting away second to last in the field of eight, Jim Meittinis floated the five-year-old Yankee Glide entire second-over to track the cover of Bourbon Bay (John Cummings, Jr.) before pacesetter Its Payday Friday (Dan Clements) rated a :56.2 initial half mile.
"It's only his third start back in well over a year, so my plan was to lay off the early speed and pick up the pieces at the end," said Meittinis. "Being that this horse has such a will to win, I put him in the race late, and he did the rest."
Valley Of Sin advanced into midfield with the aid of cover through three-quarters in 1:24.3, and was poised to strike as Bourbon Bay turned up the heat on Its Payday Friday through the far turn.
At the top of the stretch, Meittinis tipped Valley Of Sin three-deep, and the response was instant. He kicked past the dueling leaders in mid-stretch, prevailing by a widening 1-1/2 lengths while in hand up to the winning post. The time of the mile was 1:53.4.
"When I tipped him off cover there was no urging -- just a couple taps to keep him to task," concluded Meittinis. "The speed was all him."
Its Payday Friday held second, while Awsome Valley (Aaron Byron) held third up the pegs from his pocket trip.
Earlier in the program, Hannah Miller notched a win with Jacks To Open ($3.10) in a C.K.G. Billings Amateur Driving Series event, powering clear to a seven-length win over CSI Whats My Name (Dave Yarock) and Insider Access (Steve Oldford) in 1:55.2.
Live harness racing returns to Tioga on Sunday (June 21) afternoon, with first post set for 1:30 p.m. Eastern time.
(with files from Tioga)