In a drizzly afternoon card, it was the perfect setup for Summer Slash in Buffalo Raceway's $16,712 feature for distaff pacers on Wednesday, April 24.
As the early speedsters literally did the dirty work, Summer Slash bided her time and then cleaned up in the lane to take the $27.40 shocker over Shecouldbegood N in 1:56 over the 'good' track.
Summer Slash (Ray Fisher Jr.) watched the early action from seventh and last as Shecouldbegood N and Shooting Brooke battled for the lead. Clearing just past the opening half in :56.1, Shecouldbegood N was in command but the closers started to salivate with Hurrikane Msrodine and Summer Sash making their moves on the outside. There was no contest down the stretch as Summer Slash flew past Shecouldbegood N (Jim Morrill Jr.) while Hurrikane Msrodine (Kevin Cummings) settled for third.
Owned by Ilovemyharnesshorsesummer and trained by Ryan Swift, the five-year-old mare Summer Slash (Downbytheseaside-Before The Poison) earned her first score of the season in five starts. The victory upped her bankroll to $20,166 this year and $115,575 lifetime.
In the sub-featured $14,247 pace for the ladies, the heavily favoured Arco N ($3.20) didn't disappoint in notching her second consecutive victory, a four-length drubbing of Louie The Lilac in 1:55.3.
Arco N made it two straight impressive wins with a four-length triumph in the opener. After a 1-3/4-length triumph last week, a step up in class didn't faze her one bit.
Scoring from the five post, Arco N (Billy Davis Jr.) was able to grab the top in a snappy :27.4. With Louie The Lilac (Cummings) drafting behind in second, Arco N was on a mission and used splits of :56.3 and 1:25.3. Rounding into the homestretch, those ambitious fractions proved to be more than enough as Louie The Lilac had absolutely no answers for Arco N and took second. McNatural N (David McNeight III) rolled in for the show position.
Co-owned by Vogel & Wags Nags LLC and Team Rice Racing LLC, Arco N (Shadow Play-Special Harmony) earned her second win in seven starts in 2024. Trained by Maria Rice, the eight-year-old mare has now produced $18,735 in earnings on the year and $79,959 in her lifetime.
McNeight III and Cummings each tripled on the program with Davis Jr. and Morrill Jr. each grabbing two. Samuel Smith and Tammy Cummings each had training doubles.
Racing returns on Friday, April 26 at 2:30 p.m. with a 10-race program.
(With files from Buffalo Raceway)