A pair of $15,000 eliminations for Running Aces’ Dan Patch FFA Pace were contested on Sunday (July 8) at the Minnesota raceway.
The top five finishers from each elimination advanced to the Dan Patch Preview (to be raced on July 15) and the $50,000 final (July 22).
Trashytonguetalker ($3.60) was the talk of the tote board in his elim, and he did not disappoint his backers, as he delivered a gutsy and stellar performance from Post 7.
Driver Dean Magee fired the six-year-old gelded son of Arts Chip off the wings of the gate, while Stevensville (driven by Rick Magee) was away fast from Post 3 for the pocket spot. Bestinthebusiness (Gerald Longo) was also on the attack from Post 6 at that point.
Bestinthebusiness tried with all his might to sweep past the leader, but Trashytonguetalker kept on rolling and went on to deliver his rival a parking ticket. The early battle resulted in hot fractions of :26.1 and :53.4 before Bestinthebusiness began to retreat.
Stevensville began to take aim at the leader as the field rounded for home, at which point the three-quarters timer flashed to life in 1:22. Trashytonguetalker remained game and would not relent, as he went on to post a solid half-length tally in 1:50.4. The win time equalled the fastest mile ever recorded at Running Aces (Six Gun, Jason Ryan, 2013).
Stevensville finished a strong second, while To The Limit (Steve Wiseman), who had saved ground throughout, finished a clear third.
Trashytonguetalker is owned by Terry Lee Leonard and Christopher Schick, and is locally trained by Brett Ballinger. The remaining qualifiers in the field were Gold Star Mysti (who finished fourth) and Im An Athlete (fifth).
The other $15,000 elimination was won by the Dean Magee-driven Nine Ways ($33.60), who turned in a dramatic stretch rally to sweep by all of his rivals in an impressive 1:51.3 mile.
The early pace was dramatic as well, as there was a three-wide battle for the initial lead. Firedrake (Nick Roland) had charged away from Post 3 and Hawks Red Chief (Rick Magee) had immediately engaged from the rail position. Bettors Promise (James Kennedy) had joined the fray as they headed for the quarter pole.
The trio was still three-high as it passed the opening marker in :26.1. Firedrake was able to wiggle his way into the pocket as Bettors Promise remained parked and pressing on. Nuclear Dragon (Kyle Husted) chimed in as the group rounded for the half-mile marker, where the group was still two and three wide in :54.1.
Hawks Red Chief was ultra game and continued to maintain his command down the backstretch as the rest of the group continued to assert strong pressure around the final turn. The field passed the three-quarter of a mile marker in 1:22.3 and the three-wide battle began to sizzle once again (Nine Ways had thrown his hat into the ring on the outside).
Nuclear Dragon was surging past the leader and Firedrake was finding room at the inside, but Nine Ways was fastest of all to the wire, as he drew away by one and a quarter lengths in 1:51.3 over Nuclear Dragon and Firedrake. Hawks Red Chief finished fourth and Bettors Promise secured fifth to advance to the final.
Nine Ways is a four-year-old gelded son of Delmarvalous that is owned by Antonia Storer and trained by Denise Maier.
Dean Magee turned in a very impressive night, as he posted five victories during the card. Rick Magee recorded a hat trick of winners as well.
The track’s 20-cent Jackpot Pick-5 wager has a carryover of $4,126.97 and the 50 cent Hi-5 has a carryover of $1,531.61 for Tuesday night (July 10), which will feature a 7:00 p.m. (CDT) first-race post time.
(With files from Running Aces)