by James Witherite, Tioga Downs racing media
After making a strong push to the fore on the backstretch,
the Harmon Racing Stable's Splitsville ($8.20) held clear in the final quarter
mile, prevailing in the $14,000 Open I trot on Saturday (May 10) evening at
Tioga Downs after last week's triumph.
The five-year-old Hard Rock N Roll gelding sat well off
pacesetter Lutetium (Greg Merton) through initial splits of :27.2 and :56.2
before being angled wide by Jim Marohn, Jr. on the backstretch.
Splitsville pushed to the front upon immediate asking, opening up a clear
margin on the field as Lutetium gave way without any fight at all.
Sixteen Mikes (Mike Simons) tracked Splitsville's cover into second, a
position he would hold albeit 2-1/2 lengths in arrears at the wining post,
while Grey Ice (Jim Meittinis) made a late bid to take third behind
Splitsville's 1:54.4 mile.
The sub-featured $11,000 Open II trot saw Brookroad Knight
(Corey Braden) make a first-over push on the backstretch, battling with Dough
Dough (Mike Simons) on the far turn en route to a half-length 1:54.2 win.
Marohn, the leading driver at Tioga in 2013, scored a trio
of wins on the 11-race card, driving Consumer Rate and J R Jazz to victory in
addition to his feature win.
Live racing returns to Tioga on Sunday (May 11), with the
first of 11 races on Mother's Day scheduled for 1:30 p.m. EDT.
