Miss You N was her normal impressive self in Hollywood Dayton Raceway's top race on Friday (December 11), the $16,100 Mares Open Pace. It was the six-year-old daughter of Betterthancheddar's seventh visit to the winner's circle in her last eight starts.
The feature race was sandwiched by two other top condition events for distaff pacers and their results were even more eye-popping.
Driven by Jeremy Smith, Miss You N assumed her usual spot in the front of the field during the :26.2 first quarter, then showed her heels to the field throughout the remainder of the 1:52.1 mile. The Bethinator (Tyler Smith), who ended Miss You N's win streak last week by a nose, closed from the back of the pack in the final quarter and finished second, with the aid of a placing against original runner-up Checks On The Way. Its Time For Fun (Kyle Wilfong) also benefitted from the placing to grab the show dough.
Carl Howard and Bottom Line Racing LLC are partners on Miss You N, who increased her seasonal earnings to $138,930 and her lifetime bounty to $308,410. She is trained by Virgil Morgan Jr.
In the race following the Open, a real rarity occurred: a track record in mid-December over Dayton's outstanding five-eighths mile oval. Sugar Dance (Brett Miller) stopped the timer in 1:50.3, the fastest mile by a four-year-old mare in the track's seven-year history. The previous mark (1:50.4) was shared by Cult Icon and Allbeastnobeauty, both earned in October outings in previous seasons.
Sugar Dance bested Rosemary Rose (Chris Page) and Danikova (Jeremy Smith) in the $10,350 clash for non-winners of $5,750 in their last four starts. The four-year-old daughter of Ghees House is trained and co-owned by Sandra Hennessey with partner Paula Sugars.
A race prior to the Open, the gorgeous gray mare Shesgotitgoingon stepped to a 1:51.1 win in the $13,500 top condition dash for distaffers. After suffering the misfortune of being declared a non-starter due to early interference last week, the four-year-old daughter of Tellitlikeitis rebounded with authority this week for the owner/driver/trainer couple Don and Krista Harmon. It was the eighth lifetime win for Shesgotitgoingon, and just two-fifths of a second off her lifetime mark. Western Sierra (Tyler Smith) was runner-up with Mildrix (Brett Miller) crossing the line third.
Miller, the dash leader at the current Hollywood Dayton meet, notched another triple win day. Josh Sutton also won three races, bringing his total over the last two days to eight. Both Jeremy Smith and Tyler Smith had driving doubles.
Racing resumes at 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon with an outstanding 14-race card on tap.
(With files from Dayton)