E L Rocket continued his winning ways by cranking out the fastest of three divisional miles in Saturday night’s $131,375 New York Sires Stakes feature for three-year-old male trotters at Vernon Downs.
With the track’s top driver and trainer Rick Plano sitting in for conditioner Ron Burke, E L Rocket took control of the seventh race before the quarter and remained in command entering the stretch, where he accelerated to a convincing one length victory in 1:53.1.
The career-best clocking enabled the roan son of Credit Winner and Courtney Hall to stretch his current win skein to four and post his fifth score in nine current starts. It was the sixth lifetime tally for the career-winner of more than $101,100, who is shared in ownership by the Burke Racing Stable, the M1 Stable, Howard Taylor and Phillip Collura, all of Pennsylvania.
Saturday’s other NYSS successes were recorded by Crazy About Pat, a 1:54 winner for driver Cat Manzi, trainer Noel Daley and the Patricia Stable in race five, and Jacks To Open, a 1:55.2 victor for Plano, Burke and the Our Horse Cents Stable in event 10.
Manzi started Saturday’s $64,300 NYSS-sponsored Excelsior Series action off with a 1:56 win behind Viper Blue Chip in the first race and then closed it out with a 1:56.2 tally behind Ashes Cash in the 12th contest. In between were first-place finishes by Robin Would (1:56.1, race three), Brookroaddonnie (1:57, race nine), and Prove It (1:56.2, race 11).
Special Strides (Plano) captured the week’s $8,000 Open-2 Pace in 1:50.4, which equalled the 6-year-old gelding’s lifetime speed mark.
Plano posted four victories on a Vernon program for a meet-leading fourth time, Manzi earned a triple, former track regular Jeff Gregory a double, while current Downs driver Brian Connor collected a pair of first-place finishes during the 13-race card.
(Vernon Downs)