by Michael Chamberlain, Vernon Downs Publicity
I Do Hanover (Shark Gesture-I'm Married) romped to a three
length victory in the $8,000 featured pace at Vernon Downs on Saturday night.
Driven by Chris Lems, I Do Hanover sat third in the early stages of the 9th
race before tipping out and charging up to take the lead just before the half
mile mark. From there, the issue was effectively settled as I Do Hanover built
a large lead before the field reached the top of the stretch and won
impressively in a time of 1:51.4. The overall split times for the race were
26.2 for the quarter, 55 seconds for the half, and 1:22.4 for three quarters.
Some Or Lis (Claude Huckabone III) angled off the pylons in the stretch to get
racing room and split horses late to get up for second. Some Or Lis was the
longest shot in the six-horse field at 10-1 and completed the $30 exacta with
the favorite. I Do Hanover is owned by Philip Hale of New Hartford, New York
and David Dewhurst of Clinton, New York. Dewhurst is also the horse's trainer.
The complete order of finish for the feature was: I Do Hanover, Some Or Lis,
Whitemountainpower, Stormin Rustler, Dragon Fever, and Oozie's Bad Boy.
Vernon Downs also hosted a CKG Billings Amateur Trot on
Saturday night. The 3rd race was won by I'm Fabulous, driven by part-owner
Scott Woogen, in a time of 1:57.4. I'm Fabulous had to rally past Celtic
Merchant (Stephen Oldford), who had maintained the lead throughout the mile
until getting passed in the shadow of the wire. I'm Fabulous has now won two of
her last three starts, including a Miracle Mile 5 score at Tioga Downs on June
1. She is owned by Scott Woogen of Mechanicsville, Virginia and Brenda
Messenger of Monticello, New York. The trainer is Gary Messenger.
Live racing resumes at Vernon Downs on Thursday night with a
9-race program. First post time is 6:45pm.
