Wasting no time muscling her way to the top, Kat took no prisoners in winning the $18,000 Fillies and Mares Open Pace on Saturday (Feb. 11) in gate-to-wire fashion.
Leading the field into the backstretch, Kat and driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. fronted last week’s Open winner Waitforever N to a snappy opening quarter of :27. Wrenn felt his first challenger coming to the half in :56.1 as Grace Rocks, parked from the word go, tried to continue advancing on the outside. Heading into the backstretch the final time, it appeared the top three would get away from the pack, but Blue Ivy made a big three-wide move back from sixth to start her rally past three-quarters in 1:24.
Into the final turn, Merriman continued to roll Blue Ivy three wide. But coming through the stretch, Kat was able to kick clear to win by 2-1/2 lengths in 1:52 over Waitforever N, who dug in for second, while Blue Ivy was third.
Owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC and trained by Ron Burke, Kat has made $277,077 with 11 victories in 98 starts.
Monday’s (Feb. 13) program will feature a pair of carryovers as both the Pick 5 (starting in Race 6), and Pick 6 (starting in Race 8) went uncovered. The $1 Pick 5 will feature a carryover of $2,857 and an estimated pool of $15,000, while the 20-cent non-jackpot Pick 6 will feature a carryover of $699. Both wagers feature a low 14 per cent takeout. Also featured Monday are the usual guarantees of $10,000 in the late Pick-4 (Race 11) and Super Hi-5 (Race 13).
MGM Northfield Park currently races on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
(Northfield Park)