Vernon Downs ran eliminations for the
Empire Breeders Classic (EBC) for sophomore trotters on Friday night (May
18). Three divisions for 3-year-old
fillies and two divisions for 3-year-old colts. The top three fillies in each
elimination and the top four colts (and one fifth place finisher) will compete
in the EBC Finals on Memorial day (May 28).
Each class will race for an estimated $250,000 purse. All
elimination races were for a purse of $12,500.
Six Pack (Ake Svanstedt) won the first
division for sophomore trotting colts.
Ronnie Goldstein (Kim Crawford) took the
lead into the first quarter (:26.1). Six Pack ($3.00) took over right
after the quarter. However Helpisontheway (Tim Tetrick) brushed on by to
take the half in :56.2 and led to the three-quarter mark in 1:26.1.
Six Pack who is owned by Little E LLC.,
Stall Kalmar, Lars Berg, and trainer Svanstedt, sat patiently in the pocket
then wore down Helpisontheway to tie the track record for 3-year-old trotting
colts in 1:52.1. He tied the mark first set by Market Share in
2012. Helpisontheway held on for second. Classichap (Trond Smedshammer)
finished third with Southwind Chrome (Scott Zeron) getting fourth place.
All four qualified for the EBC Finals on Memorial Day.
Seven Iron (Tim Tetrick) uses one last
lunge to win the second division for 3-year-old trotting colts.
Tito (Andrew McCarthy) took the early
lead, hitting the first quarter in 27.2. Voss Volo (Corey Callahan) then
took over and led to the half in :56.3. On The Ropes (Ake Svanstedt) then
made his bid and had a slight lead after hitting three-quarters in 1:26.0.
Seven Iron ($6.40), who is owned by
Kenneth Jacobs and trained by Linda Toscano, found himself fifth after
three-quarters. Tetrick would send him three-wide in deep stretch just
getting by to win in a lifetime best mark of 1:54.2.
On The Ropes narrowly took the runner-up
spot. Voss Volo managed to finish third with Clive Bigsby (Scott Zeron)
getting the fourth position. All four would qualify for the EBC Final.
They will be joined by fifth place finisher Purpose Blue Chip (Dan Daley) to
round out the nine qualifiers.
Seven Iron is a 3-year-old colt by Chapter
Seven. It was his first win of 2018 and his third career victory.
Atlanta (Scott Zeron) coasts to easy win
in the the EBC first division for 3-year-old fillies.
White Cheetah (Marcus Miller) led the
group to the first quarter mark in 27.0. The lead was short lived as
Atlanta ($2.20), who is owned by Howard Taylor, Bradley Grant and trainer Rick
Zeron, blew right by and never looked back. She would control all the
rest of the fractions (:56.2, 1:26.1, 1:53.1).
Golden Muscle (Drew Monti) charged late to
finish in second with Tribute To Seven (Tim Tetrick) getting the third
spot. All three fillies qualified for the EBC Final.
Atlanta is a 3-year-old filly by Chapter
Seven. She is two for two in her sophomore season. She would nail
down her sixth career victory.
Plunge Blue Chip (Ake Svanstedt)
goes gate-to-wire to capture the second division for sophomore fillies.
Plunge Blue Chip ($3.00), who is owned by
trainer, Svanstedt, Blue Chip Bloodstock inc., and Tomas Anderson, charged out
for the lead and controlled all the fractions (:27.4, :57.2, 1:26.0,
1:54.0). Her stablemate Ciao Dolce (Andy Miller) followed the whole way
to finish second. Repentance (Tim Tetrick) finished third. All
three will be in the EBC Final.
Plunge Blue Chip is a 3-year-old filly by
Muscle Mass. It was her second win of the season and she now has won 11
of her 12 career starts.
The third division for 3-year-old fillies went to Natalie Hanover
(Ake Svanstedt).
Seven Karats (Tim Tetrick) took the lead and put up all the early
fractions (:27.1, :57.1, 1:26.2). Natalie Hanover ($9.30), who is owned
by Van Camp Trotting Corporation, Anders Olsson, and Borje Nasstrom while
trained by Svanstedt, followed in the pocket all the way to thr three-quarter
mark. The two fillies would battle all the way down the stretch.
Natalie Hanover was just too strong and got the victory. Seven Karats
held for second. Supergirl Riley (Marcus Miller) came up late to finish
third. All three qualified to complete the field of nine for the EBC
Final.
Natalie Hanover is a 3-year-old filly by Chapter Seven. She
picked up her first win of the season and her third career victory with a
lifetime best time of 1:54.1.
A big day for Ake Svanstedt with three wins and one second in the
elimination races.
Vernon Downs returns to live racing on Saturday night (May 19)
with a 13 race card starting at 6:10 p.m.
For more information go to www.vernondowns.com.
