by Tom Kelley, publicity director, Maywood Park

Melrose Park, IL — Sophomore trotting fillies took center stage on Thursday (Oct. 18) as a field of seven diagonally gaited ladies battled in the $12,700 Speed N The Tunnel Stake at Maywood Park.

A sloppy track and plunging temperatures certainly did not seem to bother Steve Searle and Thomas Wisniewski’s Ants Iner Pants as she rallied from sixth at the half-mile mark to score by a nose in 2:00.1 for driver Ryan Anderson.

Maywood Park photo

Ants Iner Pants rallied in the final strides to win Thursday’s $12,700 Speed N The Tunnel Stake.

Kept near the back of the pack as Rubys And Pearls (Rick Schrock) and a parked out Maevey Gravy (Marcus Miller) battled tooth and nail through splits of :29.2, :59 and 1:30.1, Anderson finally moved the daughter of Band’s Gold Chip-Patient Dream three wide as favored Maevey Gravy began to stall at the three-quarter station.

Circling up on the far outside as the fillies moved around the final turn, Ants Iner Pants was still fourth as the field hit the top of the stretch. Kicking into high gear the Searle trainee uncorked a :29.3 final quarter despite being out wide, eventually nailing Lady Ann Reed winner B Fly McQueen (Robert Smolin) in the final strides for a thrilling victory. Rubys And Pearls faded badly but still managed to hang on for third, 9-1/4 lengths behind the top pair.

Sent off at odds of 4-1 despite coming off a victory in the Betzotic Stake at Balmoral in her last outing, Ants Iner Pants returned $10.80, $7.20 and $4.20 while running her record to 4-1-3 in 20 starts this season with earnings of just over $36,000.