Running Aces’ Sunday evening (June 10) live program featured the track’s weekly feature for Open pacers. This week's edition saw six geldings line up to vie for the winner's share of the $11,000 purse.
Hawks Red Chief (driven by Rick Magee) was the talk of the tote board, as he returned with an extra week’s rest after his solid gate-to-wire score in the same class on May 27. He was looking to extend his three-race win streak. To The Limit (Steve Wiseman) was the clear second choice in the wagering, fresh off a win in the top level last week.
Holdingallthecards (Dean Magee) was the fastest off the wings of the starting gate and took the immediate lead. Hawks Red Chief was sent from the outside to find the pocket.
Dean Magee and Holdingallthecards controlled the early fractions, as they posted a blistering opening stanza in :26.1 and a half in :54.1 before beginning to tire near the three-quarters pole (1:23.2).
Rick Magee had pulled Hawks Red Chief from the pocket at the five-eighths-mile marker and was pressing by the leader as they rounded for home, at which point To The Limit picked up the perfect drafting cover and tipped three-wide into the lane. The two geldings would battle all the way to the wire in what ended up being a thrilling photo finish.
In the end, it was To The Limit ($5.60) and Wiseman with a neck up at the line in 1:51.1, for two wins in a row for the six-year-old son of Panspacificflight who is in absolutely razor-sharp form. The winner is owned by Alan Cooper and trained by Kathie Plested, and he has now won 29 races in his 128 career starts.
To The Limit gets up at the wire over Hawks Red Chief (Photo courtesy Dee Leftwich)
The $17,000 Minnesota-sired three-year-old trotting events were also featured on Sunday, with seven fillies racing for $8,500 and seven boys competing for $8,500. The filly division saw a repeat performance from Dekker (Nick Roland), who turned in a wire-to-wire romp in a lifetime-best 2:00.3. Bringoverthemoney (Rick Magee) drew away from his rivals to post a solid win in 2:00.2 for his own new lifetime mark in the male split.
This coming Tuesday night (June 12), Running Aces will offer an 11-race program that will feature a $5,000 Guaranteed Late Pick-4 and a carryover of $5,854.66 in the 20-cent Jackpot Pick 5. Post time for the card will be at 7:00 p.m. (CDT).
(Running Aces)