Aces And Cinches won a nail-bitter down the stretch in the fifth leg of the $132,394 Indiana Sire Stakes for three-year-old colt and gelding pacers at Hoosier Park on Friday, July 17.
Looking to go back-to-back in Sire Stakes, Aces And Cinches and driver Kyle Wilfong cruised out of post five, settling into his spot along the rail in fourth. Meanwhile, Swiss Light (Trace Tetrick) fended off Dancingdreamer (Marcus Miller) for an early lead at the first quarter turn in :26.
On the backstretch, the six-horse field remained unchanged with Dancingdreamer, Door Dash (Kevin Lambright) and Aces And Cinches on the case for challenging the leader as Swiss Light blazed past the halfway mark :53.3. Aces And Cinches led the charge along the exterior side-by-side with Dancingdreamer while Swiss Lights continued his onslaught through the three-quarters in 1:21.2.
Swiss Lights stayed strong down the stretch, fighting off Aces And Cinches on his right and Dancingdreamer to his left. Looking to have the race wrapped up, Aces And Cinches found a second wind, blowing past the leader right at the wire by a half-length in 1:48.2. Swiss Lights settled for second, while Door Dash charged late for third.
Aces and Cinches stayed hot for trainer Ron Burke, winning his second Sire Stakes contest of the season and boosting his lifetime earnings to $197,530. The Odds On Equuleus-Gypsy Bellevue colt is owned by Burke Racing Stable of Fredericktown, Pennsylvania, Weaver Bruscemi of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, Frank Baldachino of Harvey Cedars, New Jersey and Michael Rosenthal of Leas Vegas, Nevada.
The post time favourite, Aces And Cinches paid $3.20 to win.
Live harness racing continues at Hoosier Park on Saturday, July 18 with a 14-race card that includes a $9,164 Pick 6 carryover in races four through nine, a $7,500 guaranteed Late Pick 4 and a $7,500 guaranteed Late Hoosier High 5.
(With files from Hoosier Park)