Columbus, MN – Trotters were in the spotlight again on Sunday night (June 8) at Running Aces and the top events saw repeat winners deliver big performances for the second straight week.
The $14,750 Open Handicap offered a competitive field of seven square-gaiters and the public homed in on Double A Goldrush (Luke Plano) as the top choice from the inside draw while both Warrawee Whisper (Brady Jenson) and Iron Sharpens Iron (Rick Magee) garnered good support with each being sent off at 5-2 odds.
Longshot Greentea (Elson Miller) darted from the gate quickly from post four to grab the early lead and held court in the early stages while posting fractions of :27.4 and :58.4. Warrawee Whisper got rolling down the backside and surged to the front as Greentea began to stop sharply. Heading into the far turn Iron Sharpens Iron also launched a swift rally and was a close second as they hit the three-quarters in 1:27.2 with BP’s Lucky Star (Mooney Svendsen) closing in from third.
Warrawee Whisper still had the lead as they straightened for home but Iron Sharpens Iron was loaded with trot and the top two battled stride for stride to the wire for a thrilling photo finish that showed Iron Sharpens Iron ($7) had prevailed by a neck in the 1:56.4 mile for his second straight top level win.
BP’s Lucky Star was third best and Wilamar Spark (Nick Roland) rallied late for the fourth spot.
The winner is a 5-year-old gelding by Banker Volo who now shows 28 career wins and earnings of $311,296 for owner/trainer Dan Roland.
Peanutbutterfalcon (Rick Magee, $2.40) was also a sharp repeat winner in the $17,000 Minnesota-sired sophomore male trot, going gate-to-wire in 2:00.1 over Braggen Bliss (Roland) and Werewolfofwysteria (Jenson).
It was the ninth career win for the son of Quality Kemp, and pushed his career bankroll to $101,025 for owner Jeralene Roland and trainer Dan Roland.
Attraente (Rick Magee, $2.10) took control near the half mile and never looked back enroute to a 3-3/4 length romp in the $12,500 Banker Volo Series final in 1:56.4 to advance to 3-for-3 status in 2025. SB Eye Candy (Svendsen) was the best of the rest and Impressive Landing (Billy Mann) was home third.
The winner is a 3-year-old daughter of Gimpanzee and is owned by Jana Rucker and CJ Christianson and trained by Elson Miller.
Rick Magee led the program with three driving wins while drivers Nick Roland, Luke Plano and Billy Mann had doubles and both Nick and Dan Roland had two training wins each.
Live racing returns to Running Aces on Tuesday night (June 10) for a nine-race program that will get underway at 6 p.m. (CDT) and will feature a carryover of $4,186.30 in the 20-cent Pick-5 Jackpot that will start in race five.