Vernon: Ramona Hill rolls in Zweig Memorial for fillies

Hambletonian champion Ramona Hill bested a small but talented group of 3-year-old filly trotters on Friday afternoon at Vernon Downs, taking the $160,140 Dr. Harry M. Zweig Memorial.

The complexion of the race changed before the start when Hambletonian Oaks winner Sorella (Dexter Dunn) made a miscue and was eliminated from contention. With that foe out of the picture, Ramona Hill (Andrew McCarthy) went to the point from the pole position and led Hypnotic AM (Brian Sears), Fortune Starlet (Wally Hennessey), and Tricky Sister (Jason Bartlett) through panels of 28, 56 3/5, and 1:24 3/5.

In the lane Hypnotic AM came to the outside to try and take a shot against Ramona Hill, but it was to no avail, as Ramona Hill stayed clear on the front-end and scored by a length and a half in 1:52. Tricky Sister got up for third, with Fortune Starlet fourth, and Sorella a distanced fifth.

A daughter of Muscle Hill, Ramona Hill is trained by Tony Alagna for owners Brad Grant, Crawford Farms Racing, Robert LeBlanc, and In The Gym Partners. She has a record of 10-0-2 from 12 trips behind the gate, and she has now earned $1,136,935. She was the 1-5 favorite and paid $2.40 to win.