After four straight finishes in the money but not finding the winner's circle, Oaxacan Dream N ($5.50) finally put it all together and got the photo opportunity by capturing the featured $17,857 Open I-II Handicapped Pace for the ladies at Buffalo Raceway during a murky afternoon card on Wednesday, April 2.
Starting from the five post, Oaxacan Dream N (pictured above with driver Drew Monti) had no issues in rambling to the lead. Quickly clearing to the top, Oaxacan Dream N had solid splits of :29.3, :59.2 and 1:28.4 over the good track.
Approaching the final marker, Oaxacan Dream N opened up a solid two-length advantage and rolled to the easy 2-1/2 length victory over Rightfully Mine (Ryan Swift) and Scenic Adventure (Kevin Cummings) in a seasonal best of 1:58.
Owned by Vogel & Wags Nags LLC and conditioned by Maria Rice, nine-year-old Oaxacan Dream N (Big Jim - Verde Lima) notched her second decision on the campaign. Finishing in the money in eight times in nine attempts this year, she has put $33,785 in the bank on the season and $279,330 in her career.
In the $15,714 event for the distaff pacers, Mary Kat (Kyle Cummings) made it three straight victories as she clawed her way to a 2-1/2 length decision over Big Bad Mosa (Kevin Cummings) in 1:58. Celia Bayama (Swift) took the third place position.
With Big Bad Mosa and Atlantic Star battling for early supremacy, Mary Kat dropped in fifth but quickly raced to the top when the front end settled down. She was able to reach the point in :29.4 and followed that up with fractions of :58.4 and 1:28.3. It appeared Atlantic Star was poised to make a move around the final turn but that effort abruptly stalled out.
Turning for home, Mary Kat ($3.80) had no real threats coming her way and had more than enough left in the tank to cruise away from Big Bad Mosa and Celia Bayama.
Owned by Caeleo Enterprises and trained by David Russo, eight-year-old Mary Kat (Bettors Delight-Nanny Withafanny) picked up fourth victory in 11 seasonal starts. The win pushed her seasonal bankroll to $31,850 and to $396,518 lifetime.
Live harness racing will return on Friday, April 4 at 2:30 p.m. with nine races scheduled.
(Buffalo Raceway)