So Nice continued to bolster her credentials for local Filly and Mare Pacer of the Year honours at Saratoga Casino Hotel on Friday night (November 18) as the Amber Buter-trained distaffer prevailed in the feature.
So Nice was the 1-5 betting favourite in the five-horse Fillies and Mares Open and moved out to the early lead in a sizzling :26.4 opening quarter. Driver Mark Beckwith gave So Nice a bit of a breather in the middle half, but around the final turn, pocket-sitter Milky Way Rae (Billy Dobson) powered out of the two-hole. The race’s longshot at 15-1, Milky Way Rae actually poked a nose in front midway through the stretch, but the gutsy veteran So Nice rallied back just before the wire and emerged with a victory by the slimmest of margins. So Nice paced in 1:52.4 to record her 10th win of the year to go with eight second-place finishes in what has been a sensational 2016 season for the six-year-old mare. Milky Way Rae had to settle for second in her debut in the Open while Dilly Dali (Bruce Aldrich Jr.) earned the show spot.
So Nice has certainly emerged as the favourite for local Filly and Mare Pacer of the Year honours while in the midst of what has been an extremely consistent campaign for the Buter trainee.
The Ponder mare is owned by Gene Oldford Farms, Stephen Oldford, and Tyler Buter.
(With files from Saratoga Casino Hotel)