The favourite, For You Almostfree, displayed his superiority with not only a career-best 1:53 performance, but also a track record mile for aged trotting horses on Friday night at Vernon Downs.
Competing in the rain and over a track rated “good” in Friday’s ninth race, For You Almostfree lagged behind in third to the half (timed in :55.1), before accelerating to second as the field of five Open-1 trotters entered the stretch. With Greg Merton doing the catch-driving for trainer John McDermott, the nifty newcomer powered through the final quarter to catch and pass the mile-cutter, A Penny Earned, who finished third, and then hold off a late brush by Spring Goal to earn his fourth current victory and his 12th lifetime tally.
The explosive finish by the five-year-old brown son of Glidemaster and Pizza Dolce trimmed one-fifth of a second off the former Vernon standard for aged trotting horses, set by Spring Goal back on May 10, and it lowered his previous-best win mark by three full seconds. It also represents the fastest mile by a representative of the diagonal gait at the 32-program meeting.
The lifetime earner of nearly $267,000 is shared in ownership by the J.E.T Dream Stable, Robert Pucila, Michael Cohen and the Jonathan Klee Racing contingent.
It was one of three tallies during Friday’s 10-race card for Merton, an occasional driver at the track.
Vernon’s leading driver and trainer Rick Plano posted a pair of first-place finishes, including a 1:54.3 victory behind his trotter Shes All In during Friday’s $8,000 Open-2 contest, while the track’s third-leading reinsman, Chris Lems, secured his fifth score of the weekend and his meet-leading 12th driving double.
(Vernon Downs)