Tgdn5/8 - Aruba Vacation shines in Tioga Saturday night co-feature

  Aruba Vacation and Fern Paquet Jr. were all business on Saturday night in the $16,000 open trot at Tioga Downs. For the past two starts Paquet had sat the two hole with Aruba Vacation and could do no better than fifth and seventh. On Saturday night Paquet was in no mood to take the two hole trip and fired Aruba Vacation off of the gate from post three to trip the quarter mark in 27.1. Aruba Vacation then controlled the field of nine trotters by the half mile mark in 56.1 before stepping on the gas and delivering a 27.4 third quarter to reach three quarters in 1:24. Around the final turn, Paquet still had a length and a half jump on his biggest competitor Gaelic And Garlic (Greg Merton) who was sitting on his back. In the stretch Gaelic And Garlic could not make up any ground and Aruba Vacation went on to win by a length and three quarters in a new lifetime best of 1:53.2. Gaelic And Garlic finished second, Spice It Up Lindy (Jim Meittinis) closed late for third, while Walltocousins (Bruce Clarke) rounded out the superfecta. Guy Howard owns, trains, and bred the 6-year old son of Dream Vacation – Dixie Hit who picked up his fifth win in fourteen seasonal outings, good for more than $53,000 in earnings.

  In the $16,000 Open pace, Western Trademark and Mike Simons were coming off of back to back second place finishes but would turn the table on his competitors on Saturday. Simons brushed Western Trademark to the front and cut through fractions of 26.4, 55.1, and 1:22.4 before being challenged in the stretch by a wall of horses. However, Western Trademark would not relinquish the lead and hung on tough at the wire to win by a length in 1:50.4. Joe Cordisco trains the 8-year old son of Western Hanover – Tyber Song for Holly Cordisco of Binghamton, NY. The win was the third of the year for Western Trademark and increased his seasonal earnings to more than $36,000. 

  Corey Braden and Mike Simons each posted driving triples on the night’s twelve race card, while Greg Merton and Jimmy Marohn Jr. recorded doubles.

  Tioga Downs continues live racing action on Sunday, June 9^th with a post time of 1:30pm and will feature the $184,000 Roll With Joe and $158,000 Artiscape Pace. For more information on Tioga Downs please visit us online at www.tiogadowns.com.