Six days ago, she finished third at nearly 100-1 odds behind world champion Hannelore Hanover in the Miss Versatility. On Friday night (July 21), the previously unheralded mare Oho Diamond broke that superstar's track record, winning a $13,000 conditioned trot at The Meadowlands in 1:50.2, one-fifth of a second faster than Hannelore Hanover's record set in that race six days ago.
Oho Diamond, a six-year-old mare by Ken Warkentin who is owned by Dan Clements of Uxbridge, Ont., and trained by Renaldo Morales III, moved to the front for driver Brett Miller after a :27 opening quarter. From there, Miller had Oho Diamond comfortably on the lead with the talented three-year-old colt Victor Gio chasing from second.
After three-quarters in 1:22.3, Oho Diamond just kept going while comfortably in front, tacking on a :27.4 final quarter to stop the teletimer in the record time.
"She has always had a ton of ability but she's been a little fussy," explained Miller. "I got her going and just kept her going. When three-quarters flashed up that fast, I kind of smooched at her a little bit because it felt like she was going track record time. Even though she doesn't have as much money on her card as some of those other mares, she proved she can go with them tonight."
Oho Diamond has now won 18 times from 56 career starts good for $198,330 in lifetime earnings. She is eligible to the TVG Mares Trot series at the Meadowlands.
Miller and Morales teamed up to win in the other division of the featured overnight trot with Clements' P L Jill, who also dropped out of the Miss Versatility on the Pace Night undercard.
In second leg action in the Kindergarten Series for two-year-olds, Jimmy Takter won three $10,000 divisions with filly trotter Dab Hanover (Takter, 1:56.1), colt trotter Hill Street (Yannick Gingras, 1:56.4), and colt pacer Grand Teton (Brett Miller, 1:52.1).
Takter added another win with Hambletonian-eligible Achille Duharas (Gingras, 1:54), to make it four wins on the card.
Trotting colt Seven Iron (Tim Tetrick, 1:56.2) also won a division of the Kindergarten for trainer Linda Toscano, as did filly pacer Kissin In The Sand (Gingras, 1:51.4) for the Nancy Johansson stable.
Total handle on the 11-race card was $2,010,474.
Live racing continues Saturday with a 12-race program headlined by the Tompkins Stakes for three-year-old trotters on the road to the Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks. Post time is 7:15 p.m.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)