Fan favourite Stonebridge Wish paced the mile distance in a blistering 1:49.4 to capture Saturday night’s $5,100 eighth race and equal the fastest mile in the 57-year history of Vernon Downs
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Josh Marks, who last evening earned his 1,000th career driving victory, did the steering as Stonebridge Wish, leaving from the outside eight post, drafted behind You Bet Your Glass to the half, reached in :55.1. The seven-year-old son of Camluck-Star Crusher took charge from there, leading by nine lengths entering the stretch and drawing off to an 11-3/4 length triumph, his first in 14 season’s starts (second at the Downs) and eighth lifetime. He returned $3.00 to win.
The stunning personal best showing became the fastest mile of the 20-program meeting, a track record for aged pacing geldings and it equaled the 1:49.4 previous-best local speed standard, established by the veteran pacing mare My Little Dragon in 2008.
Tracy Brainard trains and owns the career winner of $146,880.
It was one of four driving tallies during Saturday’s nine-race program for Marks, who dominates the top driver standings here with 59 first-place finishes.
Defending Downs dash champ Jimmy Whittemore collected three Saturday scores, including a 1:52 triumph with the steady-going Stettin Hanover in the $9,100 featured sixth session, the week’s Class A Miracle Mile pace. It marked the fourth local victory, sixth current score and 25th lifetime win for the eight-year-old son of Artiscape-Sanrema Hanover, who is trained by Lonny Hale and owned by the Hale Storm Stable. The career-winner of $137,844 has finished on the payoff board in 10 of his 12 season’s appearances.
A 1:51.3 victory by J T Arturo (Whittemore) in Saturday’s $7,100 fifth race was just two-fifths of a second shy of the Vernon record for aged pacing horses, set by Goin To The Beach in 2002.
(Vernon Downs)