Illinois two-year-old trotting set was back in action on Sunday night as both the fillies and colts had their turn to shine in a pair of Sarah Myers Stakes.
In the $28,000 filly test, the red hot Miss Vickie may have put a stamp on the division title with another impressive come-from-behind victory in 1:57.1 on a cold blustery evening in Crete, Illinois.
Patiently handled by driver Brandon Simpson, the chestnut daughter of Valley Victory-Willy Nilly trotted near the back of the pack early on as Queen Creek (driven by Dean Magee) and Fox Valley Lover (Dale Hiteman) battled on the front end through opening splits of :28.4 and :57.2.
Working his way into the outer flow as the fillies moved around the final turn, Simpson had Miss Vickie perfectly positioned second-over in fourth, as Fox Valley Lover hit the three-quarter-mile mark in 1:28.
Showing no signs of rust after being away for more than three weeks, the Robert Taylor-trained miss then rattled off a :28.4 final split, as she blew by her rivals with the greatest of ease to win by a widening two-lengths. Overt (Josh Sutton), who provided live cover for the winner, turned in a game effort to finish second while Tropical Caprice (Dave Magee) rallied for third.
Since taking over the driving duties behind Miss Vickie, Simpson has guided the lass to four wins and a third-place finish in five starts, including victories in the $51,000 final of the Lil Bit Tuff and the $133,000 final of the Lady Lincoln Land. For the year, Miss Vickie boasts six wins and two thirds in nine starts with earnings of $118,615 for Kevin Dixon and Robert Taylor. Pounded at the betting windows, Miss Vickie returned just $2.80, $2.40 and $2.10.
Things did not go as smoothly for the favourites in the $27,000 colt division, as World Record holder Southern Rocketop (who went off at odds of 2-5) and the highly regarded Dr McDreamy (3-1) both fell victim to early miscues, which allowed the ultra-consistent Definer to grab command and make every call a winning one in 1:57.4.
With division leader Southern Rocketop on a break behind the gate, driver Tyler Buter left quickly from Post 4 with Definer and maneuvered around a breaking Dr McDreamy in the first turn.
With those two out of the way, Buter and Definer grabbed control of the racetrack and proceeded to march through splits of :28.4, :58 and 1:28.2 while relatively unchallenged on the front end.
Through the stretch, Buter continued to sit chilly in the bike behind the Kenny Collier-trained son of Armbro Tropicana-Sues Sweet Shery, as the pocket-sitting Be Bullish (Dave Magee) and Shining Armor (Brent Holland) tried to mount challenges. A late break then cost Be Bullish any chance he may have and Definer did the rest as he held his rivals at bay to win by one and three-quarter lengths. Shining Armor was second while 44-1 outsider Sago (Dan Noble) came on to be third.
Despite chasing Southern Rocketop for most of the season Definer has been the model of consistency in the division. Sunday's victory gives the bay gelding an impressive record of seven wins, three seconds and two thirds in 13 starts with earnings of $113,077 for the partnership of Rietveld, Dorn, Gibson and Collier. The third choice in the wagering returned $15.80, $5.00 & $3.60 while keying a $2,536 trifecta and a $1,241 ten cent Superfecta payout.
(Balmoral)