War Hero powered past Ilovemymommy in the stretch to win the $10,000 featured Open I Trot at Vernon Downs on Friday night.
War Hero (Frank Davis) followed the live cover of Ilovemymommy (Jimmy Whittemore), who surged to the lead past the half-mile mark and maintained control to the top of the stretch. It was there that War Hero moved alongside and started to surge past in the lane to win in a time of 1:53.4. Mr Web Page (Roman Lopez) had set the early fractions of :26.4 for the quarter and :56 seconds for the half, but had to work hard to get the lead after being caught three-wide around the first turn. This hard labour ended up costing him dearly later on as he faded to finish last. My Revenuer (John Macdonald) rallied from last up the backstretch to close strongly and finish second.
The complete order of finish was: War Hero, My Revenuer, Lucid Thoughts, Ilovemymommy, A Penny Earned, Out Of The Hat, and Mr Web Page.
War Hero (Ken Warkentin-Miss Gibbons) is owned by Howard Gill and trained by Jessica Okusko.
Live racing resumes at Vernon Downs on Saturday night with a nine-race program. The 2014 Miss Vernon Downs Pageant takes place on Saturday with a top prize of $1,500. Contestants will compete in casual wear, swimsuit, formal wear, and an interview segment. Post time for the Saturday night program at Vernon Downs in 6:45 p.m.
(With files from Vernon Downs)