Availed a clear pocket trip by Chris Lems, Connie Hochstetler's Southern Girl prevailed as the odds-on favourite in Thursday evening's $7,500 top-level Miracle Mile distaff pace at Vernon Downs.
With the withdrawal of Jinxys Delight leaving a field of four, Southern Girl ($3.40) had no trouble securing the pocket behind early pacesetter Keene Olivia (Truman Gale), drafting comfortably through early sectionals of :27.3 and :56.2. Lems angled the four-year-old Sportsmaster mare off the pegs with just over a quarter mile to go to avoid being boxed in by Asset Management (Fern Paquet, Jr.), and the pair made their move to the fore just after Keene Olivia completed the first three-quarters of the mile in 1:24. At the eighth pole, Southern Girl had overtaken the fading Keene Olivia, and the now 12-time winner had enough left to hold Asset Management a half length at bay in 1:51.4. Always Flashn (Andy Gardner) was an even third, while Keene Olivia faded to finish last of the quartet.
For Southern Girl, a Homer Hochstetler trainee, the win was her third in five starts.
Live racing returns to Vernon Downs on Friday evening, with first post at 6:45 p.m. The 12-race card features the $193,000 Crawford Farms and $170,000 Muscle Hill trotting events, along with a pair of New York Sire Stakes events for two-year-old pacing colts and geldings.
(Vernon Downs)