Truth And Liberty ($6.80) and driver Mike Simons charged late to win the $9,000 Fillies & Mares Open 2 Handicap Pace featured at Tioga Downs on Friday night (June 23).
The five-year-old Total Truth mare was fourth all the way to the top of the stretch. K Js Caroline (Jim Taggart Jr.) set the pace for the field of seven putting up the fractions :26.2, :55.1 and 1:23.1. Once they turned for home, Truth and Liberty, who is owned by Tracy Moss and trained by Robert Lounsbury, blew by them all, winning going away by nearly four lengths in 1:52.4. K Js Caroline gutted it out to hang on for second. Favourite Goldstar Rockette (Aaron Byron) finished third.
Simons also took the nightcap with Iaquinta ($8.60) to push his seasonal Tioga win total to 36. The five-year-old Artzina mare was last until just after the first half. By the top of the stretch, Iaquinta, who is owned Brian Calvert and trained by Fred Cohen, was heads apart with front-running Sinspirational (Tom Jackson). Iaquinta flew right by to win in 1:54 for her fourth success of the season. Favourite Sinsperational was second with Watt A Funny Face (Doug Bowins) getting third.
Mike Merton remained hot with two more wins himself. He scored with Celebrity Lampert ($6.10) in race number four and with Pokerface ($7.40) in the sixth race. His 21 wins on the season are second to Simons.
Live harness racing is back at Tioga Downs on Saturday night (June 23) with a 10-race card starting at 6:50 p.m.
(With files from Tioga Downs)