Falls For You wins Miss Versatility leg at Vernon

Falls For You and driver Brian Sears made a triumphant return to Vernon Downs on Thursday night, capturing the track’s $25,000 leg of the Miss Versatility Trotting Series, sponsored by the Allerage Farms.

Made the betting favorite as a result of their 1:53.1 track record performance (4-year-old trotting mares) in the Conway Hall final here on Aug. 15, Falls For You and Sears idled in fourth as Up Front Hotsey and Norway No Day dueled for the lead to the half, reached in :57.

Beginning their rally in the final turn, the successful duo closed to second turning for home, then barged through the stretch en route to a 1 1/2-length score in 1:54.2 over the fast-closing Lavec Dream. Norway No Day held on for third.

It was the second local win and fourth season’s score for the bay daughter of Yankee Glide-Armbro Niagara. Trond Smedshammer trains the career winner of $1,134,296 for Theodore Gewertz, the Fair Wind Farm Inc. and Willow Pond LLC contingent. She earned her 1:52.2 record in an elimination of the Hambletonian Oaks at the Meadowlands in New Jersey on July 19.

The Saratoga invader Clearaway came on strong in the stretch to secure a 1:57.1 victory in Thursday’s $10,000 eighth event, the week's top Miracle Mile trotting test.

Trainer John Stark Jr., like Sears, a former Downs driving champion, did the teaming for Loudeene Andreoli and the Barnik Racing Stable as Clearaway, trapped in fifth with traffic problems midway through the final turn, found racing room entering the stretch and closed tenaciously to record a one length win over the crowd wagering choice, Butterscotch Swirl.

Although the first local tally, it was the fifth season’s success for the 6-year-old son of Yankee Glide-Dawdle, who bumped his lifetime earnings to nearly $450,000.

Downs Doings: Following previous legs at The Meadowlands on May 11, and Tioga Downs on June 14, the Miss Versatility Series winds up with a $120,000 (est.) final at Delaware, Ohio on Little Brown Jug Day, Thursday, Sept. 18…Falls For You’s win here on Aug. 15 was one of six on that evening for Sears, a three-time Vernon percentage champion…Stark has realized four dash and five percentage titles at the Downs since 1985…Jimmy Whittemore posted a meet-leading 12th double during Thursday’s nine-race program, opening up a 70-68 lead over Josh Marks in Vernon’s current dash driving derby…Veteran trainer-driver Dan Daley also collected a pair of Thursday triumphs…Friday’s 10-race card, which showcases the $91,750 final of the Kindergarten Classic Series for 2-year-old male trotters and the $107,500 Kindergarten championship test for frosh filly high-steppers, gets underway at 6:55 p.m…More information can be obtained at www.vernondowns.com. (Vernon Downs)

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