The featured event on the Thursday, May 23 harness racing program at Running Aces was the $21,233 Mares Open Handicap Pace, which featured a talented field of eight contenders lining up behind the gate.
Two Pistol Annie was making her first local start and she left alertly from post six with driver James Kennedy to grab the early lead from Aint She Special (Luke Plano) and 2-1 public choice Better Double Flip (Todd Warren) as they posted a quick :26.4 opening panel.
Nick Roland began a gradual first over bid near the :56.1 half-mile juncture with Graceful Horizon, with Illusion Seelster (Jacob Cutting) tipped out to follow the cover down the backside.
Two Pistol Annie still had control around the far turn after posting a :28 third panel and Aint She Special was close in the pocket. After dropping back slightly near the three-quarter pole, Graceful Horizon got rolling again as they rounded to the top of the stretch.
Once in the lane, Graceful Horizon quickly forged to the lead while Two Pistol Annie ran out of ammo and Aint She Special dove to the inside with pace, creating a nice battle to the finish and a photo for the win.
The picture showed Graceful Horizon getting home a head in front of Aint She Special in 1:53, with Better Double Flip (Todd Warren) advancing late for third.
Despite sporting the best seasonal record in the field, Graceful Horizon had been dismissed on the board at 9-1 and returned $20 to win. The daughter of Vertical Horizon is owned by Set The Pace Racing and is trained by Roland, and she now has eight wins in 14 starts this year with earnings of $64,606.
Trainer/driver Brady Jenson registered a double on the program with a pair of big performances from both Twisted Bliss ($13.40), who posted a new career mark of 1:54 in her season debut, and from Always Choose Chip ($6.40), who dominated from gate-to-wire in 1:53.1 in her second start of the year.
Roland also recorded a driving double on the card when he piloted Prom Queen ($19.80) to a sweeping last-to-first victory in 1:57.1 for her third win of the year.
There were no winning favourites in the final five races on the card on Thursday, prompting a myriad of carryover pools for the upcoming Sunday, May 26 racing program. The Pick-5 Jackpot will start at $3,123.89, the Pick-4 in race two will have a carryover of $1,950.72, the Pick-3 has a carryover of $1,180.89 (Race 3) and the 50-cent Hi-5 in race four will feature a carryover of $4,919.79.
Post time on Sunday is 6 p.m. (CDT) for a Memorial Day Weekend celebration with 10 races on tap. There is a t-shirt giveaway, Pepsi Family Night specials and activities, food trucks, trout fishing, prize drawings, and Herp's Alive, a live, interactive reptile display with the "Handicapping Herpetologist" Keith Gisser on hand Sunday and Tuesday, May 28.
(Running Aces)