One Over Par rallied through the lane for what appeared to be a good second-place finish, only to be placed the winner through disqualification in Friday’s opening leg of the Do Me Honor Pace at The Meadows.
The series for three-year-old fillies is named for Do Me Honor, a top performer in the Bill Bercury stable who raced later on Friday’s card. The first leg was conducted as a single division.
Although Dobre Povedane crossed the wire first after brushing through the Lightning Lane, she was placed back to second due to a late break. Meanwhile, One Over Par, upset winner of the recent Donna Dunn Memorial Pace championship, had extricated herself from a traffic jam and closed to within a nose of Dobre Povedane, where she was well positioned to benefit from the leader’s error. PCs Vixen, rough gaited for much of the mile, finished third. The time over a ‘good’ surface was 1:56.1
Aaron Merriman drove One Over Par, a daughter of Dragon Again-Susie Girl, for trainer Kelly O’Donnell and owners Mark Maynard, KO Racing Stables Inc and Tangie Massey. It was one of five wins on the 13-race card for Merriman.
The track condition was upgraded to ‘fast’ before the $24,800 Filly & Mare Not Listed Preferred/Preferred Handicap Pace, but the way Macharoundtheclock performed, the only track condition that would have stopped her was ‘closed’. She blazed to the top from Post 9 and collected her second straight victory in 1:53.4, holding off Sand Tilly Lace by a neck. Do Me Honor didn’t win on the day ‘her’ series began, but she was a strong third despite being parked the entire mile.
Eric Ledford piloted Macharoundtheclock, a five-year-old homebred daughter of Mach Three-Summers Soul who now boasts $450,473 in career earnings, for conditioner Tim Twaddle and Birnam Wood Farms.
(The Meadows)