SB Bodacious was the talk of the tote board at 2-5 after turning in a dominating 1:51.4 win in his first local start on May 18. That betting hype paid forth with SB Bodacious turning in another strong performance in the $11,000 Open Handicap Pace on Tuesday (May 25) at Running Aces.
The four-year-old Minnesota-Sired son of Voracious Hanover drew post 5, and pilot Rick Magee wasted no time in getting his star pacer in motion to immediately challenge the inside horse Solongo for the lead. He took command near the eighth pole while reeling off a :26.4 opening quarter.
Magee settled his charge in the second quarter and picked up a :29.3 breather before Numbered Account came calling on the outside while last week’s Open winner Frewil Dakota Sven also joined the outer flow. SB Bodacious ($2.60) responded in kind by throwing down an eye-opening :26.3 third panel that left his competition four lengths behind for the top of the stretch call. The impressive son of Up Front Brad appeared to have plenty left in the tank and paced strongly to the wire, closing the mile with a :28.1 final split and registering a four-and-three-quarter length tally in a career-best time of 1:51.1.
The winner, who was a Minnesota divisional Champion in both of the last two years, is also owned and trained by Rick Magee. Frewil Dakota Sven held a game second, and Numbered Account was home in third. SB Bodacious paid $2.60 to win.
Another multiple-year Minnesota Champion pacer, Stuckey Dote, registered his first win of the season and 41st win overall with a one-length victory over a strong field of six rivals in a $5,200 conditioned event. The eight-year-old gelding is also a son of Voracious Hanover and has banked $407,223 for owner-breeder Merlin Van Oterloo to stand as the most successful Minnesota-Sired Standardbred to date. Stuckey Dote was piloted to victory by Jacob Cutting, for trainer Brett Ballinger. He paid $8.60 to win.
Jacob Cutting scored his first Hat-Trick of the 'Aces' season on Tuesday night while Nick Roland also posted a hat trick for his second night in a row. Trainer Jose Castillo picked up his first win when his six-year-old pacer Pecorino scored a one-length tally in 1:54 in a $7,500 conditioned event.
Live Racing returns to Running Aces on Thursday (May 27) with first post at 6:05 p.m. (CDT) and offers two Carryovers: $2,279.25 for the 20-cent Pick-5 Jackpot, and $1,375.41 for the 50-cent Hi-5.
(Running Aces)