Driver Steve Wiseman, involved in a season-long back-and-forth battle with Nick Roland for meet dash leader, scored a hat trick on Saturday night at Running Aces, including two of the three feature races.
The three trips down victory lane gave Wiseman 68 wins in the first 49 nights of the 53-night meet. Roland, who was winless on Saturday, still leads with 70 triumphs.
As Running Aces enters the final week of the 2015 season, the Top Ten Drivers list looks like this: Nick Roland 70, Steve Wiseman 68, Tim Maier 57, Luke Plano 54, Gerald Longo 46, Rick Magee 33, Travis Bowman 22, Lemoyne Svendsen 21, Dean Magee 20 and Tony Succarotte 16.
Wiseman started his hot night by capturing the $9,600 Fillies and Mares Open pace with Part Time Lady, who sped to a 1:53.2 score over Keep The Dream (Bowman) and Kiss On The Lips (Longo). With her stablemate Party Hangover Two sidelined, Part Time Lady took full advantage to garner her 10th win on the year and increase her seasonal earnings over $35,000 for owners Ron and Tammy Wells.
Da Terror gave Wiseman his other feature win when the blue-and-white clad reinsman gave the six-year-old gelding a patient and masterful steer in the $7,800 Open II Pace. Despite starting from the rail, Wiseman was content to watch all the action develop in front of him during early fractions of :26.2, :54.4 and 1:23, while saving ground and moving up the inside as competitors moved to the outside passing lanes. Da Terror was eighth in the full nine-horse field at both the quarter and halfway stations before starting to pass horses while still along the pylons. The winner was sixth at the three-quarters and fifth at the head of the stretch before angling out for an available seam and rushing to a half-length lifetime-best 1:52.2 win (including a :28.3 final panel) over Thebestofjoel (Maier) and Headsup Yankee (Roland). Banks Standardbreds owns Da Terror and entrusts the training to Justin Anfinson.
Swagasaurusrex was Wiseman’s other winner as the two-year-old Minnesota-sired son of Voracious Hanover lowered his record to 1:56.1 in a $3,600 non-winners event, beating three-year-olds Whatchystarinat (Longo) and Cowgirl Unleashed (Svendsen) by four lengths. Richard Davelaar owns Swagasaurusrex, who is expected to be one of the favourites in the $21,000 freshman colt pacing division as part of $201,000 Minnesota State Championships Night at Running Aces to close the season on Saturday, September 12.
Luke Plano and Rick Magee both fashioned winning driving doubles on the Saturday program.
(Running Aces)