Margaret and Amy Butler's J A T O ($3.80) seized control of the terms early and never looked back on his way to a third consecutive victory in Friday (September 23) evening's featured $10,500 Miracle Mile/Open Handicap Trot at Vernon Downs.
Chris Lems put the four-year-old Conway Hall gelding in play from the outset, pushing clear of My Lucky Word (Fern Paquet Jr.) and Gimme The Cash (Claude Huckabone III) through a :28.3 first quarter before easing the tempo on the backstretch. With five-sixteenths of the mile to go, 22-1 longshot Oh No Three O (Jeff Long) mounted a first-over challenge, working to within a length of J A T O at the completion of a :58.4 middle half, but leveling off at head-stretch. J A T O maintained control comfortably while hand-driven through the straight, keeping Oh No Three O a length at bay for a 1:55.2 score. Prairie Fortune (Mike Deters) showed mild staying power off second-over cover to save third on debut from Tioga.
Howard Okusko trains J A T O, who now has eight victories from nine Vernon starts and 31 career wins.
(With files from Vernon Downs)