The pacer Chantal Hall turned a textbook trip into a 1:54.1 triumph in Friday night’s $9,000 featured ninth race at Vernon Downs
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Leaving from Post 1 in the week’s Open test for female practitioners of the lateral gait, Chantal Hall drafted along in second place behind the pacesetting Bet The Ranch until the top of the stretch before taking charge and posting a three-length score, her second in a row, third at the meet and seventh of 2009. The crowd-betting favourite paid $5.10 to win.
The featured race first-place finish gave driver Jimmy Whittemore and his dad, owner-trainer Dennis Whittemore, a double during the 10-race program. They also combined for a 1:54.3 victory by the pacing distaffer My Girl Lora in Friday’s $5,000 third event.
My Girl Lora joined fellow side-wheeler Bille Bella Chick as Vernon only four-time winners after 20 programs.
The Fern Paquet, Jr.-steered pacing mare Prettyasapageant joined trotters Crown Rules and Sharpshootennorris as the only standardbreds to string together three straight scores at the meet after she recorded a 1:56.4 tally in Friday’s eighth event. Jamie Paquet trains the six-year-old mare for the In Front Racing Stable.
The same trio also combined for a career-best 1:53.3 victory from the pacing mare Allamerican Celeb in Friday’s $5,500 sixth session.
Driver-trainer Frank Antonacci and the Lindy Racing Stable (Real Appealing and Real Joke) also collected a pair of first-place finishes during Friday’s program
A 12-race card, featuring an appearance by the 2008 New York Sires Stakes champion Hay Goodlooking and the week’s top pacing contest, will follow the Belmont Stakes simulcast tomorrow evening. Saturday’s live racing will begin at 6:55 p.m.
(Vernon Downs)