No Foolin April wasn’t fooling around in the $38,889 Fillies and Mares Open Handicap Pace at Dayton Raceway on Thursday, Oct. 9, taking her second straight win at the track.
A spirited three-across battle kicked off early, with Fearless Ginger (Chris Page) protecting the rail from post three, a parked-out Shadows Dancers (Trevor Smith) between horses, and No Foolin April (Jeremy Smith) three-wide through the opening turn. As the mares passed the quarter in :26, Shadows Dancers cleared to the lead only to be immediately challenged by No Foolin April. No Foolin April finally took over as they passed the tote board, and she headed the single-file field past the half in :54.2.
The outer flow began to develop just past the midway mark when Got Sexy Scars and driver Sam Widger moved to the outside from fifth and were able to flush cover from Fearless Ginger. The first-over mare worked up to within a head of the leader at three-quarters in 1:22.2. As Fearless Ginger began to tire, No Foolin April slid away from the field and cruised home to complete the mile in 1:51. A hard-charging High Flyin Filly (Brett Miller) used a four-wide move around the final turn to close from eighth and finish second by 1-3/4 lengths. Shadows Dancers was third.
No Foolin April, trained by owner-breeder Adam Short, took her sixth win of the year in 20 starts. The four-year-old Nob Hill High-Princess Baby Ella mare has earned $494,188 and won 13 times in 47 career outings. She paid $3.40 to win.
Page won five of the night's 14 races. He scored with Dry Creek Princess ($4.20), Mission Voyage ($12.40), Sweet Illousion ($2.10), Chicka Boom ($6), and Dublins Angel ($3.20). The reinsman, who recently secured the driving title at Scioto Downs, has won 459 races across all tracks this year and is winning at a 20.3 per cent rate. With Jeremy Smith also collecting three victories on the card, he and Page now sit tied atop the drivers' standings with 32 wins each through 11 cards.
Racing continues at Dayton Raceway on Friday at 4 p.m.
(Dayton Raceway)