Vernon Downs: Fad Finance, Earn Your Wings post upset wins in Empire Breeders eliminations

Two $12,500 Empire Breeders Classic eliminations for 3-year-old trotting fillies were the featured races on Friday night at Vernon Downs, and Fad Finance and Earn Your Wings were surprise winners over odds-on favorites.

Non Stick (Ake Svanstedt), a perfect eight-for-eight in her career, was the headliner of the first elimination. Sent off at 1-9, Non Stick would lead the way through panels of 26 4/5, 56 4/5, and 1:25 3/5, but in the lane, first-over challenger Fad Finance (Trond Smedshammer) wore her down and went on to win by a neck in 1:54 1/5. Straight A Student (Mark MacDonald) came up the inside to get second, followed by Non Stick and Lindylicious (Chris Lems).

Smedshammer also trains Fad Finance, a daughter of Credit Winner, for owners Purple Haze Stables LLC., Marc Goldberg, and Rojan Stables of New York and Delaware. This was her fifth career win, and she has now earned $68,338. Sent off at 10-1, Fad Finance paid $22.60 to win.

In the other elimination, it would be Earn Your Wings (Jason Bartlett) converting off a pocket trip in 1:54 4/5. She beat runner-up Swinging Royalty (Lems), who led until the stretch, by just over a length with 3-5 favorite Open Access (Matt Kakaley) back in third. Goosebump Hanover (Jim Morrill Jr.) grabbed fourth.

Anette Lorentzon trains Earn Your Wings, another Credit Winner filly, for owner SRF Stable of Florida. Earn Your Wings now has three lifetime wins, and she has banked $38,718. She was dispatched at odds of 8-1 and returned $18.20.