by Michael Chamberlain, Vernon Downs Publicity
Colby Jate (Jate Lobell-Cam Press Shania) scored the victory
in the $10,000 featured pace on Saturday night at Vernon Downs. Colby Jate
(Aaron Byron) did not have an easy time getting to the front as there was a
4-way fight for the early lead. Only No Monkeys Allowed (Fern Paquet Jr.) did
not try to get to the front in the field of five. However, once Colby Jate got
to the front, matters were pretty much resolved. He proceeded to lead all
the way around the racetrack. The fractions were fairly fast, as well, as Colby
Jate went the quarter in 25.4 seconds, the half in 54.2, and three-quarters in
1:22.3. JK Panache (Chris Lems) tracked the leader from the pocket,
but was never able to get closer than a length away in the stretch. The
final time for the mile was 1:50.4.
Colby Jate is owned by Friendship Stables LLC of Mountain
Lakes, New Jersey. The trainer is Mike Watson.
The complete order of finish was: Colby Jate, JK
Panache, Avantage, No Monkeys Allowed, and Moonlight Ransom.
The CKG Billings Series for amateur drivers returned to
Vernon Downs on Saturday night as well. It was a similar story to the feature
as the winner went to the front right away and stayed there all the way.
However, Armstead Kyra (Muscle Mass-Paus Awhile) was far from the favorite in
the field, going off at 43-1 and paying $89 to win. Even with the favorite Choke
Hold (Vladimir Melnichenko) finishing second, the exacta paid a whopping $882.
Armstead Kyra was driven to victory by Matt Zuccarello
in a final time of 1:56.1. The fractions were 27.3 for the quarter, 58.1 for
the half, and 1:26.3 for three-quarters.
Armstead Kyra is owned by Brenda Messenger of Monticello,
New York and Scott Woogen of Mechanicsville, Pennsylvania. The trainer is Gary
Messenger.
Live racing will resume at Vernon Downs on Thursday night
with an 11-race program. Post time is 6:45pm.
