Defending dash-winning and training champion Rick Plano was on top of his game again at Vernon Downs on Friday night, posting four first-place finishes, including a 1:54.4 score with his trotter Shes All In during the $8,000 featured ninth event.
Competing as the crowd’s favourite from post five in Friday’s Winners Over Trot, Shes All In drafted along in second behind the pacesetting second choice, Manningly, until the final furlong, where she found racing room in the pylon path and accelerated to a one and a quarter length victory over the on-rushing Dreamanotherdream. Manningly ended up third.
Friday’s victory was the fourth locally, the sixth this season and 15th overall for the four-year-old daughter of Revenue S-Simply Royal, who raised her lifetime earnings up to more than $110,000.
Plano’s other tallies were with his wife’s (Maryann) trotter Ulay Boko in the third race, the Jeffrey Long-conditioned trotter Isabella Gal in the fifth session, and Lon Frocione’s trotter Naughty Not Nice in the eighth event, bumping his win-total after 70 programs to 127 and his conditioning count to 50.
After Ulay Boko tied fellow trotter Ziegler Hanover at eight for most wins by an equine performer at the meet in Friday’s third event, Ziegler Hanover hustled up his ninth first-place finish during the track’s 60th anniversary season in the sixth session. It was the second win in succession, the sixth in the last seven starts, and the 26th all-time for the steady-striding eight-year-old son of Andover Hall-Xqsmwa, who raised his career earnings to nearly $260,000 for owner Regina Dewhurst. Chris Lems did the steering for trainer Dave Dewhurst.
Truman Gale, a former provisional driving champion at Vernon, captured the first, second and 12th races of the evening to record his third triple at the meet.
(Vernon Downs)