John MacDonald ties Jimmy Whittemore for
first in driving wins on closing night at Vernon Downs (November 3).
MacDonald drove Machmemackie to a win in
the “Turn Back the Clock” rewind pace race. It was enough to tie him with
Whittemore for first with 115 wins each. Truman Gale finished third with
58 victories while Claude Huckabone Jr finished fourth with 56 tallies.
Leon Bailey used 50 wins to finish fifth on the list.
A field of seven went one lap around the
seven-eighths mile track going clockwise. Machmemackie ($3.30) led the
group to the first quarter in :27.4. Great Soul (Josh Kinney) went first
over around the first turn. As they reached the back stretch, Feelin
Lucky (Truman Gale) went three wide and took a short lead hitting the half in
:57.3.
Machmemackie, who is owned by J P Stables
and trained by MacDonald, reclaimed the lead before hitting three-quarters in
1:26.0. Second place finisher, The Royal Garden N (Jimmy Whittemore) made
a late charge but Machmemackie was too strong and won the seven-eighths mile
race in 1:40.2. Giacodelight (Kyle DiBenedetto) finished third.
Machmemackie is a 7-year-old gelding by
Mach Three. It was his third win this year and his 20th
lifetime victory.
Golden Gun (Josh Kinney) wins featured
pace ($7,500).
Golden Gun ($5.50) went to the front and
never looked back putting up all the numbers (:27.0, :56.1, 1:24.1, 1:53.2 ) to
win his fourth straight feature at Vernon Downs. Heaven Rocks (Jimmy
Whittemore) was second with Ponyta Boy (Leon Bailey) taking third money.
Golden Gun is an 8-year-old gelding by
Headmaster. Owned by The Wiz Kids Stable and trained by Jeff Sorenson, he
picked up his seventh win this season and career victory number 31.
Lucky Man (Jennifer Lappe) captures the 10
years or older “War Horse” race for pacers.
Cascata (Truman Gale) took the lead just
before hitting the first quarter in :28.0 and kept the lead at the half mile
mark in :58.3. Lucky Man ($4.20), who is owned by Patrick Laiso and Lappe
(trainer), used a first over brush to take the lead before hitting
three-quarters in 1:28.0. When they hit the stretch the only battle left
was for second place as Lucky Man won easily in 1:58.3. Dark Prince (John
MacDonald) was second best with Mayflowermoonshine (Claude Huckabone III)
getting the third spot.
Lucky Man is a 13-year-old gelding by
Camluck. It was his fifth win this season. He now has reached the
winner’s circle 58 times in his career.
Upto A Dream (Josh Kinney) wins the “Turn
Back the Clock” rewind trot race.
Upto A Dream ($8.60) charged to the front
and put up all the fractions, hitting the first quarter in :28.3, the half in
:58.2, three-quarters in 1:28.3 and finishing the seven-eighths mile in
1:43.4. Funny Photo (Joe Nassimos) finished second. Fox Valley
Photog (Leon Bailey) was third.
Upto A Dream is a 6-year-old gelding by
Impel Hanover. Owned by Todd Santoro and trained by Gary Gibson, he
picked up his fourth win of the year. He now has 16 career victories.
John MacDonald captures the training title
for the third straight year. “J-Mac” trained 65 winners. Jimmy
Whittemore was second best with 37 wins. Homer Hochstetler (34), Truman
Gale (30), and Robert Gale (27) rounded out the top five.
Kabu wins horse of the year.
Owned by the J P Stables and trained by John MacDonald, he won eight of
his 18 starts at Vernon Downs this season.
The staff at Vernon Downs thanks all the
fans and horse people for a great 2018 season.
For more information go to www.vernondowns.com
