Northfield, OH — Since returning from Scioto Downs two starts ago, Waitforever N has been chomping at the bit to return to the winners’ circle, she was able to do it on Saturday (July 8) with a gate-to-wire victory in the $20,000 Filly and Mare Open.

Waitforever N won Saturday’s $20,000 feature at MGM Northfield Park. Casalinova Photo.

Leaving alertly from post four and only a single challenger inside of her, Waitforever N (Aaron Merriman) wasted no time leaving down the center of the racetrack. She would duel with Lydeo (Chris Lems) into the first turn but made the lead after a stiff quarter in :26.3.

Merriman got a big breather in the second quarter, with a soft half of :56.1, but a host of pursuers came, including Tiny Bit Of Sky (James Day), who led the assault in the outer flow. Into the backstretch, Tiny Bit Of Sky got within three-quarters of a length of the leader, but Merriman repelled that challenge.

Turning into the stretch, Merriman asked Waitforever N for a little more, and she responded, winning by three-quarters of a length in 1:52.2. Lydeo tried to close but managed only to be second with Rock Me Cristal (Ryan Stahl) rallying to be third.

It was the 19th victory of the year for the daughter of American Ideal, who now has $190,881 in the bank for owners D Racing Stable, Donald Mac Rae, Kapildeo Singh, and trainer Braiden Rhoades.