Cathys Princess Sweeps Late-Closer

Published: June 30, 2013 07:41 pm EDT

Cathys Princess and Jim Meittinis won the $39,200 Williams Auto Trot final on Sunday afternoon at Tioga Downs.

Leaving from post position number five in a field of six, Meittinis got away second as Ima Que T (Jim Marohn Jr.) led the field to the opening quarter in :27.4.

At the quarter pole, Meittinis moved Cathys Princess to the outside and took control from Ima Que T and led the field through fractions of :56.3 and 1:25.1. The second choice in the wagering, Mistress Valentine (Corey Braden), moved first over to challenge the leader and was just a half of a length off in the final turn.

As the field entered the stretch, Meittinis went to work on Cathys Princess and was able to hold off the late surge from Mistress Valentine in 1:53.4.

The win was the fourth win in six seasonal starts for the five-year-old daughter of Malabar Millennium, who is owned by Paul Vance and Tom Haughton.

Mistress Valentine finished second while Ima Que T hung on for third.

In the $16,000 Open Pace, Sheer Brilliance (Sean Bier) took on all challengers and parked May Day (Jim Taggart Jr.) throughout the mile to win in 1:49.4. It looked as though Sheer Brilliance was going to give way in the lane to a fast-closing Eastend Eddie (Jim Marohn Jr.), but the tough eight-year-old gelding fought back in the lane to score his 37th career victory. Jeff Long trains and co-owns the gelded son of Blissful Hall with Paul Long.

Tioga Downs continues live racing action on Thursday, July 4 with a post time of 6:50 p.m., and will feature fireworks immediately following live racing.

(With files from Tioga Downs)

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