A pair of $10,000 conditioned trots topped the card at Batavia Downs on Friday (Aug. 30) night and both winners were heavily backed at the windows.
In the first split, Keeper Of Secrets (Kyle Cummings) sat third behind the front-running BJ’s Smitty (Drew Monti) to the half in 1:00.1, where he made a first-over move heading into turn three. Keeper Of Secrets gained a narrow lead on the outside over BJ’s Smitty at three-quarters, who then fought back to the front at the top of the stretch. But when they turned for home, Keeper Of Secrets got back in gear and cleared the field by 1-¼ lengths to win in 1:59.
It was the second win in the last three starts for Keeper Of Secrets ($4.80) for owner Lawrence Barnett and trainer James Rothfuss.
Kyle Cummings ended the night with three driving wins.
Then in the second division, Curry Hanover (Kevin Cummings) took the lead from post one and was pressured on the outside by Jacked (Dave McNeight III) through quarters of :28.2, :57 and 1:27. As they trotted into the last turn, Jacked dropped out, leaving a clear path for the pocket-sitting Four Wheelin (Drew Monti) to make a dash. Four Wheelin closed all the way to the wire, but Curry Hanover was tough and hung on by a neck in 1:58.1.
It was the fifth win of the year for Curry Hanover ($4.70) who is owned by Franklin Meier and trained by Angelo Nappo.
Joe Chindano Jr. also scored a driving hat trick while trainers Marc Shuttleworth and Chris Petrelli each registered two wins apiece.
Live racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Saturday (Aug. 31) at 6 p.m. and there are two carryovers of note. The Pick-5 in the first race has a $706 carryover and the Jackpot Super Hi-5 pentafecta in the 13th race will see the pool start with $1,154 on Saturday.
