The Sunday night, July 14 harness racing program at Running Aces featured three divisions of Minnesota-sired sophomore trotters.
In the $23,288 male ‘A’ division, a field of seven lined up behind the gate with the heavy 1-20 favourite on the board, DP Freedoms Chrome ($2.10) and driver James Gould, succeeding in their quest for a fourth straight Aces win.
Wherever Rio Goes (Sean Smithpeters) charged away from the gate from post five to grab the early lead while Gould floated DP Freedoms Chrome away alertly from the outside post and then headed to the front of the affair, making the top just before the :29.2 quarter-mile clocking.
The favourite settled nicely on the lead and Wherever Rio Goes was close in the pocket through the :58.3 and 1:27.2 middle stages while Bankers Quest travelled in third.
Turning for home, Wherever Rio Goes gamely tipped from the pocket with trot, but DP Freedoms Chrome responded immediately and proceeded to kick clear during the final sixteenth of a mile to post a 3-1/4-length tally over Wherever Rio Goes in a career best 1:56.4 mile. Bankers Quest was well back in third.
The winner is a son of For You Almostfree, owned by Aimes Racing and trained by Elvin Zimmerman. He now has 15 wins from 16 career outings with earnings of $128,774.
Baby Flash ($2.40) delivered another sharp gate-to-wire performance this week to capture the $23,288 filly trot in a career best 1:57.4, getting home 4-1/4 lengths better than Al Mar Puredelight (James Kennedy) with Bankers Grace (Rick Magee) picking up third money. It was the third win of the season and 16th career tally for Baby Flash, a daughter of Southwind Flash owned by trainer Rick Huffman along with Keith Wilson and Brenda Lovetinsky. Mooney Svendsen was the winning pilot.
Adira Disa ($2.40) also went gate-to-wire in the $11,664 sophomore ‘B’ trot to post her second career win and take a new mark of 1:59.2 with driver Brandon Jenson in the bike. They checked home 3-1/2 lengths in front of Thom Cruise (Luke Plano) and Spiceymoneymaker (Svendsen). The Southwind Cobra filly is owned by Larry Jenson and is trained by Brady Jenson.
Trainer Williams Hernandez posted a one-two finish in the $17,397 Open II Handicap Trot with Yo Lucky Moni ($26.60) and Winnerup. Hernandez was in the bike behind Yo Lucky Moni and worked out a perfect pocket trip before the four-year-old International Moni gelding exploded with trot in the lane to surge past Winnerup (Nick Roland) and capture the victory while Bringoverthemoney (Dean Magee) rallied for third. The 1:55 winner is owned by Friendship Stables and Terrence Smith while the runner-up is also owned by Smith.
Driver Nick Roland and trainer Brady Jenson led the program with three winners each, while Jenson also had two driving wins.
A carryover of more than $5,308 sparked a large pool and a hefty payout of $16,952.50 for a 50-cent ticket in the fourth race Hi-5 wager, with longshots capturing the top three finishing positions. The winner of the claiming allowance handicap event, Sporty Spook A (Roland), returned $43.20 on top.
Live harness racing returns to Running Aces on Tuesday night, July 16 with a nine-race program that will feature a carryover of $7,523.99 in the 20-cent Pick five wager, which will begin in race five. First post is set for 7 p.m. (CDT).
(Running Aces; Photo of DP Freedoms Chrome from a previous win)