Minettas Nightstar front-stepped her way to an easy win in the featured $8,500 Fillies & Mares Open Pace at Northlands Park on Friday night completing a driving-training triple for brothers Bobby and Keith Clark
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Fresh off a pair of close second-place finishes in her last Open starts, 2011 Alberta Super Final champion Minettas Nightstar swept to command from third past the :29.2 quarter mark and was never seriously threatened the rest of the way. She hit the half in :59 and three-quarters in 1:27.2 before kicking away from the field by two and a half lengths to score in 1:55.2. She paid $4.10 to win as the favourite. Wrangler Raine and Rene Goulet finished second off a three-hole trip while pocket-sitter River Lass and Kelly Hoerdt was third.
Minettas Nightstar, a winner of two races in seven starts this year, is owned by trainer Keith Clark and Calgary's John Hind. Lifetime, the Brandons Cowboy-Lucky X Ample mare has put together a record reading 16-8-4 in 37 outings and now boasts a bankroll totalling $212,054.
The Clarks also teamed up for victories earlier on the card with four-year-old mares Barbera ($9.90) and Princesse Dorleans ($10.60), both first-time winners in 2012.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Northlands Park.