Hello Great Mate and Lewayne Miller used front end tactics to take home Friday night’s $16,500 featured Fillies & Mares Open Handicap Pace
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Leaving from post position No. 3, Miller cut through fractions of :27.3 and :58.1 before Mike Micallef moved Billie Bluechip first over. The field turned down the backside and Miller accelerated through a third quarter in :28, tripping three-quarters in 1:26.1. Turning for home Micallef and Billie Bluechip continued with first over pressure, but was not strong enough to get by Hello Great Mate in the stretch. The mile of 1:54.4 was a new seasonal best for the four-year-old daughter of Allamerican Ingot-Cheery Hello, who is trained by Erv Miller for Kentuckiana Racing Stable of Lexington, Kentucky.
Hello Great Mate returned $15.80 to win.
Billie Bluechip (Mike Micallef) held on for second, while Lizzies Dream (Michael Merton) was third.
Fern Paquet Jr. posted a driving triple on the night’s nine-race card while 2011 leading driver Ed Hensley scored a double.
(Tioga Downs)