Despite a late afternoon snowstorm which dumped anywhere between two and six inches of snow on the Chicagoland area the show continued on at Balmoral Park as a field of seven Illinois conceived and foaled three-year-old filly pacers met in the $7,000 final of the Incredible Finale Series.
After decisive victories in the first two legs of the series Michael Parisi’s Kissmeallover was sent off as the 4-5 favourite in the race and she did not disappoint her backers as she held on gamely to win by a head in 1:57.
Given a confident steer by driver Mike Oosting the daughter of Sportsmaster-Redhot Express floated away from the gate and was an unhurried fourth on the outside as Wolf Creek Cupid led the field through an opening quarter in :29.1.
Oosting then hustled the Hart Walker trainee to the front as the field headed towards the half-mile mark. Kissmeallover then proceeded to pace through middle splits of :58.2 & 1:27 while holding her rivals at bay.
In the lane Kissmeallover dug in gamely as a hard charging Youaretheonlyone (Josh Sutton) and the pocket sitting Wolf Creek Cupid tried to get to the favorite. Showing the grit and determination that netted her wins in the first two legs of this series Kissmeallover dug in throughout the late stages and managed to hold off the late rally of Youaretheonlyone for the victory. Wolf Creek Cupid was third, 1 ½ lengths behind the top pair.
The odds on choice in the wagering Kissmeallover returned $3.60, $3.00 & $2.20 while pushing her record to 4-4-3 in 21 starts this season with earnings $25,222.
(Balmoral Park)