Dover: Venerable bounces back, dominates in Matron for 2YO filly trotters

Venerable suffered her first career defeat last time out in her Breeders Crown elimination when she made a break, but she had no issues on Thursday evening at Dover Downs in the $130,700 Matron final for 2-year-old filly trotters, scoring easily on the engine in 1:54 3/5.

David Miller hustled Venerable right to the lead from post six, and she was unstressed through panels of 27 3/5, 57 1/5, and 1:25 3/5. Venerable opened up on the field on the final bend, and she cruised home to a 6 3/4 length victory over a closing I'm Happy Hanover (Brian Sears). HL Revina (Montrell Teague) wound up third.

"She looked pretty much like she was the best in there," said David Miller. "To avoid any problems, I just put her on the lead.

"She's kind of been that way all year. She's been pretty strong throughout the summer."

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Nifty Norman trains Venerable, a daughter of Walner, for owners David McDuffee, Mel Hartman, Paul Bordogna, and Steven Arnold. She has nine wins from ten starts, she pushed her bankroll to $927,295, and she paid $2.10 across-the-board. Bred by Maumee River Stables, Black Creek Farm, Martin Schmucker, and Steve Stewart, Venerable was a $210,000 purchase at last year's Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. She is out of the Muscle Hill mare Jolene Jolene [1:52 1/5, $231,673], making her a half-sister to Crucial [1:52 4/5, $528,598].