Columbus, MN – The Thursday night (July 9) harness racing program at Running Aces featured two divisions of the Minnesota-sired sophomore pacers going for $17,500 each, as well as the weekly $16,000 Mares Open Handicap pace.
In the colts and geldings division, Diesel Thunder Boy and driver Josiah Miller left alertly from post 5 for the early lead while favorites Wild About Me (driven by Nick Roland) and Cool Mr Cool (Casey Leonard) were both parked out for the fast :27.2 quarter. Cool Mr Cool made the top, with Wild About Me winding up in the pocket, during the :28.2 second panel.
Down the backstretch, Luke Skyrocker (Luke Plano) launched a first-over bid and applied pressure to the leaders with CL Dancer following the cover. Cool Mr Cool still had command at the 1:25.2 three-quarters and Wild About Me was still close in the pocket with Diesel Thunder Boy saving ground behind him.
As they swung for home, Cool Mr Cool began to feel the effects of the wide early trip and quick early fractions and the field stacked up for the stretch drive, with Diesel Thunder Boy shaking free and surging in the passing lane late to get up for a half-length win in 1:54.1 over Wild About Me, while Luke Skyrocker out-kicked Cool Mr Cool to pick up third money.
The winner is by Aracache Hanover and is owned by trainer Nathalie Tremblay and Dave Kuri. It was the first win of the season and a new career mark for Diesel Thunder Boy, who paid $17.60 to win.
Starstruck Fool held on gamely against pocket-sitter Hotcheddar Flirt to win the filly division by three-quarters of a length in 1:55.1 with Thiskidcanfly rallying late for third. Scott Cisco was the winning pilot for owners Jeri and Briar Roland and trainer Dan Roland. The daughter of Karpathian Kid now shows four wins from seven starts this year. She paid $3.40 to win.
K T Part E lived up to the hype as the 1-2 favorite in the Mares Open event, holding on by a head for a gate-to-wire tally over pocket-sitter Premier Desirey in 1:51 with Fillister Photo checking in third.
It was the seventh win of 2026 for K T Part E, a daughter of Cattlewash, for owner/trainer/driver Brady Jenson. She paid $3.
Drivers Brady Jenson, Scott Cisco, Luke Plano and Nick Roland all had doubles on the card, while Jenson also posted a training triple and Plano a training double.
Live racing returns to Running Aces on Sunday (July 12) for “Circus Night at the Races,” which will feature circus performances by Circus Juventas in between races, as well as “Pepsi Family Night” specials and kid’s activities, trout fishing, food trucks, Sole Survivor contest and more. Ten races are on tap with first post at 6 p.m. (CDT).