Three-year-old trotting colts and geldings were in the spotlight Friday evening at Vernon Downs as the oval hosted three divisions of the New York Sires Stakes.
Cruising In Style (Jim Morrill, Jr.) went right to the lead and controlled the early fractions (:28, :56.2, 1:24.4) in the first division while Six Pack ($2.90) followed patiently in the pocket. Owned by Little E LLC, Stall Kalmer, and trainer, driver, Svanstedt, he popped out of the pocket just before the three-quarter mark. He was just too strong in the stretch, holding off the late charge of Voss Volo (Corey Callahan) to win in a lifetime best of 1:53.1. Voss Volo was second best while Cruising In Style settled for third.
Six Pack, a colt by Muscle Mass, won the two-year-old NYSS Final ($225,000) in his last start of 2017. He is now one-for-one for the season and five-for-nine in his career.
Helpisontheway (Tim Tetrick) took the second division ($39,900) of the NYSS.
Vics Winner (Andy Miller) led the way to the first quarter (:28.2) but Clive Bigsby (Chris Lems) took over before the half and led through three-quarters (:58, 1:27.3).
Helpisontheway ($4.50), who is owned by The Bays Stable LLC., Camelot Stable Inc., and trained by Linda Toscano, emerged first over from fourth just after the half and trotted right by at the top of the stretch and won easily in a career best of 1:53.1. Clive Bigsby settled for second and Vics Winner got the third spot.
Helpisontheway, a colt by Chapter Seven, is one-for-one as a sophomore. It was career win number two.
The third division ($40,600) of the NYSS went to Don (Andy Miller).
Yuge (Andy McCarthy) charged out of his outside post and took them to the first quarter in :27. Omaha Omaha (Jim Morrill, Jr.) popped out the pocket and controlled the next fractions (:56.4, 1:26.1).
Don ($6.30), who is owned by Andy Miller Stable with Little E LLC., and trained by Julie Miller, charged first over and took over in the stretch. It looked like it was going to be an easy victory but Classichap (Trond Smedshammer) came out of the clouds and finished second by just a neck. Seven Iron (Tim Tetrick) fired late as well to get third place.
Don, a colt by Credit Winner, won his first race of the season in a career best time of 1:54.3. It was career win number three.
Tim Tetrick won three on the night; along with Helpisontheway, he went to the winner's circle with If Not Why Not ($50.50) and Alex The Great ($7.20)
Vernon Downs returns to live harness racing Saturday with a 10-race card starting at 6:10 p.m. For more information go to vernondowns.com.
(Vernon Downs)