by James Witherite, Tioga Downs racing media
After stalking moderate early fractions, Splitsville ($3.70)
made his move to the fore on the backstretch, driven clear late to prevail in
Saturday (May 17) evening's $14,000 Open Handicap trot at Tioga Downs.
It was the fourth consecutive win for the five-year-old Hard
Rock N Roll gelding, who launched a first-over bid as pacesetter Brookroad
Knight (Corey Braden) rated a :58 half-mile with Wisenheimer (Mike Merton)
stalking from the pocket. Driver Jim Marohn, Jr. forced a quickening
tempo on the backstretch, striking the lead with Splitsville through three-quarters
in 1:25.3, wearing down Brookroad Knight, and holding off a three-wide bid form
Wisenheimer for a 1:54.2 victory.
Splitsville, who scored his 21st career win, is trained by
Rob Harmon for the Harmon Racing Stable.
Marohn scored a driving hat trick on the night, also
victorious with Jolly Lester (1:55.0) and Fox Valley Legend (1:57.0), but was
kept at bay for the top spot in the seasonal driving standings by Aaron Byron,
whose victory with Sundowner Bob (2:00.0) kept him with a scant 13-12 lead
early in the meet.
Racing resumes at Tioga Downs on Sunday (May 18) afternoon,
with the first of 11 races scheduled for 1:30 p.m. EDT.
