by James Witherite, Vernon Downs racing media
Shuffled to last at the top of the stretch,
Itstimeformetofly ($27.40) found room to hook to the grandstand side in the
final eighth of a mile, rallying to a 1:53 victory in the featured $7,300
conditioned pace for fillies and mares on Thursday (October 30) evening at
Vernon Downs.
The six-year-old Cheyenne Rei mare secured the pocket
between dueling leaders Always Flash-n (Frank Davis) and Spotlight On (John
MacDonald) through a scorching :26.1 initial quarter, left to track the pair
from third on the backstretch. As Bring Them Home (Justin Huckabone)
commenced a first-over bid on the entry to the far turn, Itstimeformetofly
found herself hard pressed for racing room, shuffled badly through the third
quarter. Relegated to last off the corner, Fern Paquet, Jr. hooked
four-wide with Itstimeformetofly, charging up alongside mid-stretch leader
Thats My Dream (Jimmy Whittemore), who took the lead after kicking cover.
Itstimeformetofly continued on to take charge in the final yards, prevailing by
three-quarters of a length over Thats My Dream. Always Flash-n, also a
victim of traffic trouble, re-rallied to save third after steadying hard
mid-stretch.
Scott West trains Itstimeformetofly for owner Marie Roberts.
Paquet and Truman Gale each scored three wins on the
evening's 10-race card.
Live racing returns to Vernon Downs on Friday (October 31),
with the first of 11 races scheduled for 6:45 p.m. EDT.
