After rating a soft 1:00 middle half, Dayson kicked clear at will in upper stretch, keeping a career-long winning streak alive in Friday evening's New York Sire Stakes races at Vernon Downs.
Twelve two-year-old trotters, split into two equal divisions of six, vied for $107,000 in combined purses in the evening's co-featured events.
Dayson ($3.10), sent off the odds-on favourite in the second division, allowed Crown Point (Dan Daley) to vault clear in the initial furlong before making his move to the fore. Just having passed the winning post on the first occasion, Jeff Gregory floated the gelded son of Conway Hall-Nerveys Taurus clear, taking over through a :27.4 initial quarter before backing down a 1:00 middle half. Faced with a first-over challenge from Dog Gone Lucky (John Campbell) upon exiting the far turn, Dayson dug in at once, kicking clear upon cornering. While Dog Gone Lucky failed to sustain his bid, the second-over Allerage Echo (Chris Lems) gave late chase, only mustering a runner-up effort while 1-3/4 lengths in arrears of the undefeated Dayson's 1:55.2 mile.
Howard Okusko trains Dayson - now perfect through seven races - for Margaret and Amy Butler.
The earlier division saw Reve Royale ($3.50) make an early push to the lead, clearing Smalltownthrowdown (Daley) after a :28.3 initial quarter before rating a 1:00.2 middle half and subsequently holding off a stout challenge from his pocket rival for the length of the stretch to narrowly prevail in 1:57.1. Chris Lems drove the son of RC Royalty and Dream Street for trainer George Ducharme and owners Raymond Campbell, Jr., Paul Fontaine, and Alfred Ross.
Live racing returns to Vernon Downs on Saturday evening, with the first of 14 races due off at 6:45 p.m. The program features the $45,000 finals of the New York Excelsior Series for three-year-olds, along with the $50,000 New York Sire Stakes consolations for three-year-olds.
(Vernon Downs)