Atlanta was sent off at 1/2 in the $75,000 Sebastian K Invitational Trot and she didn't disappoint her fans, her connections or her backers with a convincing victory in track record time.
Driver Yannick Gingras opted to take the pocket ride with Atlanta behind Lindy The Great (Andy Miller) through fractions of :26.4, :55.2 and 1:23.1. Once the trotters hit the final turn, Atlanta angled to the outside and she absolutely set sail in the stretch. She trotted by the tempo-setter with powerful strides to hit the wire in 1:50.1. That mile time established a new track record for older trotting mares, erasing the 2015 mark of Daylon Miracle.
When Dovescry (David Miller) shot up the passing lane to get up for second with Lindy The Great staying for show.
"I knew Lindy The Great was going to get me where I needed to go, and I've been trying to keep her covered up this year," said Gingras. "One of these weeks we'll rock her on the front but we'll wait for another day."
Trained by Ron Burke for Atlanta (Chapter Seven - Hemi Blue Chip) now sports 29 wins in 57 career starts for Crawford Farms Racing of Syracuse, N.Y., Brad Grant of Milton, Ont. and Howard Taylor of Philadelphia, Penn. with earnings approaching $3.1 million.
The Sebastian K Invite was one of the highlights of Sun Stakes Saturday at Pocono. Check out the recaps of the other events in the Sun Stakes Saturday News Centre.