BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY, Sunday, November 18, 2018—Dan
Dube does not discriminate.
He and Jack Vernon ($8.40) went the
distance Sunday afternoon (Nov. 18th), winning Yonkers Raceway’s
$54,800 Open Handicap Trot. The previous evening, Dube and Gokudo Hanover wired
‘em in the week’s marquee pace.
Back to ‘Jack,’ who won a several-horse
scrum for the early lead, then gave nothing else a shot.
The nine-horse feature (one came up ill)
served as the opener of seven added-distance ‘French’ trots.
From post position No. 4, Jack Vernon
stuffed Gruden (Brian Sears) in behind, setting up shop before a 28-second
opening quarter-mile. It was a :57.1 half and 1:26.3 three-quarters
before invading 3-2 favorite I Know My Chip (Jim Marohn Jr.) made his second
move.
Wide early into a four-hole, I Know My
Chip came first-up, but the bid was both brief and ineffective. Meanwhile, Jack
Vernon was gone, widening past the 1:55.3 milepost and opening four lengths in
and out of the final turn.
He finished\ it off by 2¼ lengths, getting
the mile-and-a-quarter in 2:25. Andy Ray (Jason Bartlett) offered late foot to
wind up second, with Gruden, Lean Hanover (Jordan Stratton) and Lord Cromwell
(Matt Kakaley) settling for the minors.
I Know My
Chip backpedaled to last.
For second
choice Jack Vernon, a 5-year-old Muscle Hill gelding owned by Mr. (Andy) Miller
Stable and trained by Mrs. (Julie) Miller, it was his 10th win in 25
seasonal starts. The exacta paid $66, the triple returned $466.50 and the
superfecta paid $2,828.
Technical
difficulties resulted in the cancellation of the ‘New York, New York Double’
for Sunday afternoon.
The next
Sunday matinee is Nov. 25th (post time TBA).
