Marloe Hanover scored a repeat win in Tuesday’s Mares Open, holding off even money favourite Drama Act, who was making her first start of the year.
Rose Run Vision (Trevor Smith), who had also won two consecutive times in the weekly mares feature in mid-February, and Drama Act (Chris Page) both left alertly with Marloe Hanover dropping in third. Rose Run Vision took command just as the top two passed the quarter in :27. Nothing changed during the second stanza, reached in :56.1, but things heated up considerably as the field of top distaffers headed down the backstretch.
Brett Miller committed Marloe Hanover first-up on the outside and stuck a nose in front of Rose Run Vision at the 1:24 three quarters mark. Drama Act tried valiantly to catch the winning five-year-old daughter of Captaintreacherous, but couldn’t manage with just a qualifier under her girth since he last start—a winning effort on December 4. Sherris Babe (Trace Tetrick) followed Marloe Hanover’s progress around the final bend and was towed into third.
Virgil Morgan, Jr. trains the back-to-back winner for the Let It Ride Stable and the JL Benson Stable of Florida.
Finalists were determined for the Howard Beissinger Memorial Medley championship to be contested next Tuesday (March 15) at the extended distance of 1-1/4 miles. Two $20,000 one mile trot races concluded the preliminary events, with the winner of each clocking 1:55.4.
Shake It Mary (Tetrick), who impressed with a winning 1:10 5/8th’s mile dash in Leg 1, won the first split over Milfords Z Tam (Josh Sutton) and Outofbait (Jeremy Smith). Sherif Cunmulaj conditions the six-year-old mare sired by Dontyouforgetit for the Rushcreek Stable.
Shine All The Way (Miller) captured the second division over Riverdancing Diva (Page) and Conway Kellyanne (Smith). The five-year-old, also by Dontyouforgetit, made an uncharacteristic break in his Leg 1 dash and was in jeopardy of missing the final with an eighth of a mile to go in Leg 2. After settling in third early in the mile, Shine All The Way was locked in and shuffled back to sixth as the trotters turned for home. Miller finally found a seam to the outside and then flew down the middle of the track to victory. Trainer Victor Gray, Sr. co-owns the winner with Pay Dirt Racing and Colin Hurst.
(Miami Valley Raceway)