Lebanon, OH – For the second straight night, an Open winning streak was snapped, this time No Foolin April’s four-race run, which was ended by Hey Hey Mama.
Sent off as the 4-1 third choice in the $36,000 Open Handicap for fillies and mares, Hey Hey Mama and driver Luke Hanners left sharply from post seven, clearing to the front while eventually letting race favorite No Foolin April go to a quarter of :27. Once the dust settled, Hanners was right back out to take the lead and control the pace to a half in :56.2.
Nearing the half, the outer flow got underway from sixth as Beautiful Seaside looked to flush some cover, but none was found so she was forced to continue the first-over charge from a long way back. Pressing on, Beautiful Seaside and driver Trevor Smith continued the charge until closing within a half-length just past the three quarters in 1:24.2.
Around the final turn, Hey Hey Mama was able to slip away from the field by two lengths as the combination of a tiring Beautiful Seaside and a loose pocket-riding No Fooling April stalled the field. A second-over Louisville GB flipped out from behind cover to try and chase down Hey Hey Mama, but the jumpstart from the turn proved to be too much to overcome as Hey Hey Mama cruised home in 1:52.2. Louisville GB closed for second while No Foolin April hung on for third.
The win for Hey Hey Mama was her 21st in 73 career starts and would hand trainer Virgil Morgan Jr. his third picture of the evening. It was one of four winners on the night for driver Hanners, who also piloted the other winning Morgan mounts.
Racing at Miami Valley will return at 4 p.m. on Sunday (Jan. 18) with an early Pick-4 carryover of $3,895 to begin in Race 5.