Jerseylicious avenged a narrow defeat last week by capturing the $22,000 Mares Open at Miami Valley on Friday night (March 24).
Leaving alertly from an outside post, driver Trace Tetrick put the money-making machine on the front end early and dictated all the fractions before pulling away in the stretch to an impressive 1:51.1 triumph. The seven-year-old daughter of Western Ideal now has 22 career wins in just 84 starts and surpassed the $700,000 earnings plateau with the victory. Endeavors Fantasy (Mike Oosting) used the innermost post position to full advantage to finish second, while White Metro (Tyler Smith) also saved ground along the pylons to manage a show finish.
Jerseylicious is now owned by Emerald Highlands Farm and has been conditioned by Tim Lane to a 4-1-2 scorecard in eight 2017 starts.
The victory was one of five on the program for Tetrick, who now leads the local dash derby by over 20 victories. The defending Hoosier Park driving champion will be returning to Indiana for their opening card next Saturday, but does plan to return to Miami Valley on Sundays and Mondays through the end of the meet in early May.
The Dr. Don Mossbarger Memorial late-closing series also kicked off on Friday in two divisions. Twin B Honour (Tetrick) and Youlookhot (Josh Sutton) captured their respective $12,500 splits.
Twin B Honour topped Backwoods Barbie (Brandon Bates) and Clarebear (Kayne Kauffman) in 1:54.2. The five-year-old Sportswriter lass, owned by Wilbur Langacher and trained by Brett Selby, returned $21.00 to her $2 backers.
Youlookhot, racing for owner Charles Stovall and trainer Joseph Essig, bested Gypsy Bellevue (Aaron Merriman) and Stirling Euphoria (Kayne Kauffman) in 1:54.3, returning $19.80.
(Miami Valley Raceway)