Columbus, MN – Alilthundadownunda (Malak Uswaad N) reminded everyone why he was voted as the Minnesota harness racing horse of the year (2021) as he posted his 45th career win while taking a new career mark of 1:51 in the Tuesday night (July 15) featured $14,750 Open Handicap pace with trainer/driver Nick Roland in the bike.
Roland floated his star pacer away alertly from post three to grab a seat in third while race favorite He’zzz A Wise Sky (Dean Magee) charged to the front and Spiritofanoutlaw (Brady Jenson) secured the pocket.
He’zzz A Wise Sky registered swift fractions of :26.4, :55.3 and 1:23.1 while Spiritofanoutlaw and Alilthundadownunda tracked along behind the leader and both PD The Big Easy (Brandon Jenson) and Over The Horizon (Billy Mann) tried the outer flow with little impact on the leaders.
In the lane, He’zzz A Wise Sky came under pressure as Spiritofanoutlaw pulled the pocket and Alilthundadownunda dove into the passing lane.
Alilthundadownunda ($19.60) charged fastest to the wire and got home a half-length better than Spiritofanoutlaw with He’zzz A Wise Sky a further half-length back in third.
The win also pushed his career earnings to $490,792 and he is among the top money winning Minnesota-sired horses to-date. He is owned by his breeder Set The Pace Racing.
The Tuesday program also featured Minnesota-sired freshman action with $85,000 in purses over six divisions.
Set Free (Three Of Clubs) won the $15,000 colts ‘A’ pace in 1:54.3 with driver Rick Magee aboard for owner Ken Stauffer and trainer Justin Anfinson, while Starstruck Fool (Karpathian Kid) won her fourth straight in the $15,000 fillies ‘A’ split with Nick Roland in the bike for owners Jeri and Briar Roland and trainer Lino Pacheco. The pacing ‘B’ divisions went to Wild About Me (Roland) in 2:00.1 and Baby I’m Hot (Elson Miller) in 2:01.2.
On the freshman trotting side, SV Rough And Tough (Chad Svendsen) won his third-straight race in the $17,500 colts division in 2:02.4 while AL-Mar Flash Over (Roland) remains a perfect five-for-dive lifetime after a 2:01.2 tally in the $17,500 filly division.
Nick Roland led the program with four driving wins and a training triple while Rick Magee posted a driving double. Those two are now tied at the top of the Aces drivers list with 41 wins each so far this season.
Chad Svendsen notches his 500th driving win
Minnesota native Chad Svendsen collected his 500th career driving win on Tuesday night at Running Aces with a sharp gate-to-wire triumph behind trotter SV Rough And Tough ($12.20) for owner Larry Mather and trainer Jason Telfer. The milestone win came in the $17,500 Minnesota-sired freshman colts trot, with a mile in 2:02.4 over a sloppy track surface.
Svendsen has now piloted the son of Tom Ridge to three-straight wins at Running Aces.
The victory also vaulted Svendsen’s career purse earnings over the $2 million mark and in addition to his 500 wins, Chad also has 487 seconds and 466 thirds for a total of 1,453 top-three finishes from just 2,711 career drives for a very impressive 54 percent in the top three.
Chad has been a mainstay on the fair circuit in Minnesota and Iowa since he began driving in 1988 and currently does the bulk of his driving at the Iowa fairs, along with frequent trips north to compete at Running Aces.
The Svendsen name is synonymous with harness racing in the region and Chad is also the nephew of one of Running Aces perennial top drivers, Lemoyne ‘Mooney’ Svendsen.
Live racing returns to Running Aces on Thursday night (July 17) for an 11-race program with first post at 7 p.m. (CDT).