Columbus, MN — The Sunday night (July 14) harness racing program at Running Aces featured three divisions of Minnesota-sired sophomore trotters with a total purse of $42,500.

The $17,000 male ‘A’ division saw a field of seven line up behind the gate and a heavy 1-20 favorite on the board with DP Freedoms Chrome and driver James Gould vying for their fourth straight Aces win.

Wherever Rio Goes (Sean Smithpeters) charged away from the gate from post five to grab an early lead while Gould floated DP Freedoms Chrome away alertly from the outside post and then headed to the front of the affair, making the top just before the :29.2 quarter clocking. The favorite settled nicely on the lead and Wherever Rio Goes was close in the pocket through the :58.3 and 1:27.2 middle stages while Bankers Quest traveled in third.

Turning for home Wherever Rio Goes gamely tipped from the pocket with trot but DP Freedoms Chrome ($2.10) responded immediately and proceeded to kick clear during the final sixteenth of the mile to post a 3-1/4 length tally over Wherever Rio Goes in a career best 1:56.4 mile. Banker’s Quest was well back in third.

The winner is a son of For You Almostfree, owned by Aimes Racing and trained by Elvin Zimmerman. He now shows 15 wins from 16 career outings with earnings of $115,200.

Baby Flash (Southwind Flash) delivered another sharp gate-to-wire performance this week to capture the $17,000 filly trot in a career best 1:57.4, getting home 4-1/4 lengths better than Al-Mar Puredelight (James Kennedy) with Banker’s Grace (Rick Magee) picking up third money.

It was the third win of the season and 16th career tally for Baby Flash ($2.40) for owner/trainer Rick Huffman and additional owners Keith Wilson and Brenda Lovetinsky. Mooney Svendsen was the winning pilot.

Adira Disa (Southwind Cobra) also went gate-to-wire in the $8,500 sophomore ‘B’ trot to post her second career win and take a new mark of 1:59.2 with driver Brandon Jenson. They checked home 3-1/2 lengths in front of Thom Cruise (Luke Plano) and Spiceymoneymaker (Svendsen).

Adira Disa ($2.40) is owned by Larry Jenson and is trained by Brady Jenson.

Trainer Williams Hernandez posted a one-two finish in the $12,700 Open II Handicap Trot with Yo Lucky Moni (International Moni) and Winnerup (Credit Winner). Hernandez was in the bike behind Yo Lucky Moni ($26.60) and worked out a perfect pocket trip before exploding with trot in the lane to surge past Winnerup (Nick Roland) and capture the victory while Bringoverthemoney (Dean Magee) rallied for third.

The winner is owned by Friendship Stables and Terrence Smith while the runner-up is also owned by Smith.

Driver Nick Roland and trainer Brady Jenson led the program with three winners each, while Jenson also had two driving wins.

A carryover of more than $5,308 sparked a large pool and a hefty payout of $16,952.50 for 50 cents in the fourth race Hi-5 wager, which saw longshots capture the top three finishing positions. The winner of the claiming allowance handicap event, Sporty Spook A (Roland) returned $43.20 on top.

Live racing returns to Running Aces on Tuesday night (July 16) with a nine-race program that will feature a carryover of $7,523.99 in the 20-cent Pick-5 wager which will begin in race five. First post is set for 7 p.m. (CDT).