No luck was needed so it turned out to be a pretty good night for Goodnight Goodluck as he captured the $9,000 Open Pace at Batavia Downs on Saturday night.
Scoring from the rail, Goodnite Goodluck, driven by Kevin Cummings, re-took the lead at the quarter pole and set fractions of :27.4, :57.2, and 1:26 in posting the winning time of 1:54.1.
Mark It On Ice and a hard-charging Unicorn Hanover tried valiantly to catch the pacesetting Goodnite Goodluck ($4.10), but he dug in down the stretch and they had to settle for second and third, respectively.
The win was the sixth of the season for Goodnite Goodluck, who is owned by Mark Jakubik of West Seneca, New York and is trained by Kris Rickert. The win was Goodnight Goodluck's third in his last five starts in the Open Pace and pushed his seasonal earnings to $54,141.
The Open II actually went faster than the Open as Spender Hanover ($3.20) turned in a seasonal-best of 1:53.1 for driver Dave McNeight III and trainer Don Rothfuss. Spender Hanover is owned by Howard Ouriel of Rochester, New York.
Driver Anthony Morgan, a regular on the Harrah's Philadelphia and Ocean Downs circuits, found Batavia Downs to his liking as he scored a driving double, as did Kevin Cummings, Dave McNeight III, Jack Flanigen and Jim McNeight.
(With files from Batavia Downs)