Leading
driver John MacDonald continued to be red hot as he drove four winners
including Brookdale Bruiser in the $4,400 featured pace at Vernon Downs on
Saturday (August 29).
In the
feature, Wind Blast (Josh Kinney) charged to the front and led to the first
quarter in :26.4. He continued to push
the pace using a :28.1 second quarter to hit the half in :55.0. Brookdale Bruiser sat patiently in the pocket
the whole trip as Wind Blast led to three-quarters in 1:22.4.
As they
made the turn for home Brookdale Bruiser popped out of the pocket and took
control in the stretch. Sofer (Leon
Bailey) came charging three-wide but Brookdale Bruiser dug in and won in
1:53.0. Sofer settled for second. Yamaka came charging late to finish third.
Brookdale
Bruiser is a 6-year-old gelding by Roll With Joe. He is owned by the JP Stables and trained by
Brandy Wine. It was his fifth win of
2020. He now has 25 career victories.
John
MacDonald leads all drivers with 37 wins.
Howard Parker and Leon Bailey are tied for second with 30 trips to the
winner’s circle. Jimmy Whittemore (24)
and Roman Lopez (12) round out the top five.
The
training title remains very tight. George
Ducharme and Kerin Warner are tied for the top spot with 13 wins a piece. David Dewhurst, Claude Huckabone III, and
Brandy Wine are all just one back with 12 victories each.
Vernon
Downs returns to live racing on Friday (September 4) starting at 3:00 p.m.
For more
information go to www.vernondowns.com.
