The quick-striding pacer Dont Blame Her and driver Fern Paquet Jr. shared the spotlight during Thursday night’s 11-race program at Vernon Downs.
Dont Blame Her became a two-time winner at Vernon’s 69-program meeting with a 1:51.2 victory in the evening’s $10,000 Open for female pacers, while Paquet produced five wins during the card.
For the second week in a row, co-owner Joe Bongiorno handled the lines behind Dont Blame Her as the 10-year-old mare wired four fast-footed distaff rivals in Thursday’s second race, stopping the timer in 1:51.2, a mile that equalled her lifetime speed record and came within two-fifths of a second of Intimidate’s season’s standard for representatives of the diagonal gait at Vernon.
The impressive mile resulted in the second straight score, fifth this season and 56th all-time for the bay daughter of Village Connection-Never My Fault, who is also registered to Barbara Bongiorno and trained by Brad Irvine. It was the 210th start for the career-earner of $780,982.
Paquet captured the first, third, fourth, fifth and 10th events to tie Rick Plano, Roman Lopez and Chris Lems at one for most wins by any driver during a single program at the track’s 60th anniversary meeting.
Three of Paquet’s victories (Mc Thunderstruck, Salome Marvel and Want More) were for owner/trainer John McNeil III, who chalked up his initial training triple at Vernon this year.
Jimmy Whittemore charted his 13th double at Vernon in 2013 to take an 83-81 lead over Roman Lopez in their battle for second place on this season’s dash-winning driving chart.
(Vernon)