Among the featured events on the Sunday, July 7 program at Running Aces were three divisions of sophomore Minnesota-sired trotters.
In the $23,288 male ‘A’ division, DP Freedoms Chrome ($2.10) was the overwhelming favourite and was in search of his third straight Aces win.
Driver James Gould wasted no time in getting the star trotter to the front of the affair, leaving sharply from post two to take command in the opening strides while Insurrectionist (Brad Irvine) secured the pocket and Wherever Rio Goes (Sean Smithpeters) landed in third through a :28.4 opening quarter.
Things remained the same at the 1:00.4 midway point before Wherever Rio Goes launched a first-over bid down the backside and Bankers Quest (Jacob Cutting) followed cover.
Around the final turn, DP Freedoms Chrome kicked into high gear and opened up by two lengths while Wherever Rio Goes intently pursued the leader and Bankers Quest made a miscue. DP Freedoms Chrome had saved his best work for the final quarter and sprinted home in the lane to capture victory by 2-3/4 lengths in 1:58.3 while Wherever Rio Goes was clearly the best of the rest and Insurrectionist checked home in third.
The winner, a colt by For You Almostfree, now has 14 wins from 15 career starts and earnings of $117,130 for owner Aimes Racing and trainer Elvin Zimmerman.
Baby Flash ($7) turned in a career-best effort to capture the $23,388 fillies ‘A’ division in 1:58.3.
Chad Svendsen was in the bike behind Baby Flash and steered her into the pocket early behind race favourite Bankers Grace (Rick Magee) while Magnolia Moonlight (James Lackey) tracked the leaders from third.
Bankers Grace led through moderate fractions of :29, 1:00.2 and 1:29 before Baby Flash exploded with trot up the inside to draw away in the lane for a 3-1/4-length tally while Magnolia Moonlight picked up second and Adira Disa rallied from the back of the pack to grab third.
Baby Flash, a daughter of Southwind Flash, now has 15 wins from 21 career outings and has earned $124,277 for owner/trainer Rick Huffman and additional owners Keith Wilson and Brenda Lovetinksky.
Adeline Rose (Braggart) was a sharp-looking winner in the $11,644 sophomore ‘B’ division, trotting in a career-best 2:02.4 to capture her second lifetime win over Finale Jetta (Bradndon Jenson) and Polished Arrow (Justin Van Otterloo). Mooney Svendsen was the winning pilot for owners Ken Stauffer and Cathy Dessert. The win mutuel returned $3.
Domovoy ($2.60) made it three wins in a row in the $21,233 Open Handicap Trot with a gate-to-wire effort over Winnerup (Nick Roland) and Grab Da Moni (Rick Magee) in 1:53.4. Jacob Cutting was the winning driver behind the four-year-old Triumphant Caviar gelding for owner Dave Dobbelmann and trainer Edwin Quevedo. Domovoy now has six wins in 14 starts this year and seasonal earnings just shy of $70,000.
Drivers James Lackey and Elson Miller both had doubles while Miller and Edwin Quevedo had training doubles on the card.
Live harness racing returns to Running Aces on Tuesday night, July 9 for a nine-race program with ‘Dollar Night’ specials and free bet drawings. First post is set for 7 p.m. (CDT).
(Running Aces; Photo of Baby Flash winning on July 7)