by Darin Gagne, for Running Aces

Columbus, MN — The Tuesday night (Aug. 21) card at Running Aces played host to the weekly $12,000 Mares Open Pace, with a solid field of seven distaffers lining up for battle.

Gold Star Mysti (James Yoder) was looking for three in a row, and was sent off as the 6-5 favorite from post seven. Kiss On The Lips (Dean Magee) was well supported at 7-2 and was one of the fastest off the gate, hooking up in an early battle with Capitol Hill (Steve Wiseman).

Dee Leftwich photo

Kiss On The Lips prevailed over Gold Star Mysti in the Mares Open.

Kiss On The Lips took control past the quarter, and then immediately faced the pressure of Gold Star Mysti who had floated off the gate to be fourth on the outside around the opening turn. From there, these two mares battled neck and neck and nose to nose, as they have done on so many occasions here at Running Aces. Kiss On The Lips maintained the slightest advantage throughout the epic battle, and held off a fierce late lunge at the wire to hold Gold Star Mysti at bay and register a half-length victory in 1:53.3 for the fastest mile of the night. Whatitdo Babyboo (Rick Magee) closed from the back of the pack to pick up the pieces in third.

Kiss On The Lips ($9.20) is in the midst of her career best year, with six wins to her credit and $57,444 in the bank for the season after completing her 35th lifetime victory. She is owned by Peg Hoffman and trained by Gerald Longo.

MD Magic continues to dominate the 2-year-old trotting scene in Minnesota in 2018, as he picked up his fourth consecutive score in the $14,000 event on Tuesday. Driver Dean Magee sent him right to the front from post four in an abbreviated field, and the outcome was never in doubt, with MD Magic drawing away from the field with every stride and registering a 5-3/4 length win in a new lifetime mark of 2:00.1. MD Magic ($2.40) is a gelding by Braggart out of the Striking Sahbra mare Magical Debut, owned by Set The Pace Racing and trained by Nick Roland.

Burning Blaze (Rick Magee) dominated, as expected, in the $8,500 Minnesota-Sired 2-year-old pace for colts and geldings, with a solid gate-to-wire tally in 1:56.4 for his fourth career win in six starts. Burning Blaze ($2.40) is a gelding by Wind Me Up, owned by Alan and Cheryl Sandbulte and Edward Gutin and he is conditioned by Justin Anfinson.

Windmeupnwatchmego (Dean Magee) was another dominant winner on Tuesday night, delivering as the 1-9 overwhelming choice in the $8,500 Minnesota-Sired 2-year-old filly pace. The ultra-impressive filly by Wind Me Up took off right out of the gate from post four and rallied past Trinitysfancyfilly (Brian Detgen) to take the lead near the quarter, and the race was over from there, as Windmeupnwatchmego ($2.10) widened with every call and poured it on in the lane to get home 8-3/4 lengths ahead of the rest in 1:56.2 for her fourth win in six career starts. She is owned by Richard Davelaar and trained by Gordon Graham.

Live racing continues three nights a week at Running Aces, with first post at 7 p.m. (CDT) on Tuesdays, and first post at 6 p.m. (CDT) on both Saturdays and Sundays. The 20-cent Jackpot Pick-5 wager has a carryover of $22,113.10 for Saturday night (Aug. 25).