Rev Me Up, at age eight the oldest mare in the field, found room up the pylons just in time to zoom by pacesetter Shine N Shimmer and capture the $17,050 Fillies and Mares Open Handicap Pace at Miami Valley on Friday (March 27).

Driver Randy Tharps left alertly with the winning daughter of Park Place before turning Shine N Shimmer (Chris Page) loose and accepting the pocket just prior to the first quarter beam, tripped in :27.1. The field raced single file through a pedestrian :29.4 second panel until Beat The Beat (Kyle Ater) pulled from fifth and launched an outside attack just past the :57 midway clocking. With Arties Last Party (Jeff Nisonger) and Multiple Sources (Greg Grismore) in tow in the outer flow, the classy mares cut through a 25 mile per hour wind and freezing temperatures to the 1:26.2 three-quarters station. Double tiered around the final turn and well bunched and fanned four-wide at the head of the stretch, the field tried valiantly to gain ground through the final sixteenth of a mile, but only Rev Me Up could get by Shine N Shimmer for the 1:55.2 score. Beat The Beat never faltered and held for the show spot.

Merl P’pool leases Rev Me Up, who notched her sixth win in a dozen 2015 starts for trainer Kathy Millman. Her $41,421 in seasonal earnings brings her lifetime bounty to $575,497. Off at 9-2 odds, Rev Me Up paid $11.80 to her faithful.

(Miami Valley Raceway)