Mr Avalanche stretched his winning streak to three and helped driver Chris Lems achieve a five-win outing with a 1:58.2 showing in Friday night’s $10,000 Open-1 Handicap Trot at Vernon Downs
.
Facing seven select rivals in the featured ninth race, Mr Avalanche ($19.60) was directed to the front from the number four post by Lems, and the gritty gelding remained there throughout, defeating Mystic Splendor by more than two lengths over a track rated sloppy.
Friday’s first-place finish was the third locally, the sixth this season and the 11th all-time for the steady-striding five-year-old son of Striking Sahbra-Epoque Effe, who is trained by Paul Durante, Jr. and owned by New York's Jeremy Godfrey. The career winner of $43,787 was competing in Vernon’s top trotting test for the first time.
Lems, third in races won at the Downs this season, raised his win count to 39 after also scoring with freshman trotter Catman Dude (2:04.1) in the third race, sophomore filly pacer Excited Ideal (1:58.1) in the sixth session, veteran trotter Duke Of Wellington (1:59.4) in the seventh race, and two-year-old pacing colt Fresh Dream (2:00.2) in the eighth event. He tied Frank Milby as the only drivers to have won five races on a single Vernon program after 44 programs in 2011.
The Roman Lopez-owned, trained and driven Mr Web Page became the winningest trotter at the meet after snaring his fifth season’s score with a 1:57.1 effort in Friday’s second race.
Catman Dude’s victory in Friday’s third race made him the initial two-year-old trotting colt to finish first in pari-mutual competition thus far this season at the Downs. Fresh Dream became the first two-year-old pacing colt to capture a betting race at Vernon through July 29.
Jennifer Ancone of Syracuse won the Miss Vernon competition at the track on Friday night.
(Vernon Downs)