Columbus, MN – The Thursday night (Aug. 22) program at Running Aces featured top distaffers in the weekly $15,500 Fillies & Mares Open Handicap pace with a field of seven going postward in this week’s edition.
Two Pistol Annie (James Kennedy) was the slight 9-5 favorite on the board from post seven and last week’s winner, Fox Valley Leah (Todd Warren), also garnered significant support at 2-1 from post four.
Graceful Horizon and driver Nick Roland fired fastest from the gate and had the lead at the :26.4 quarter clocking before Majors Miracle and Elson Miller asserted themselves to take over the top near the three-eighths pole with Illusion Seelster following in third.
Majors Miracle posted the middle fractions of :56 and 1:23.4 while Illusion Seelster offered a first-over challenge and Fox Valley Leah raced from second-over.
Majors Miracle swung for home with a one length lead and kept to her task while Two Pistol Annie made a big closing effort to come up a half length short on the line in a 1:53 mile.
Better Double Flip (Jeffrey Hunt) saved ground throughout and was up for third and Lazin On The Beach (Bryan Quevedo) made a big rally from last to check in a close fourth.
Majors Miracle ($8.80) is a 5-year old daughter of Luck Be Withyou. She now shows three wins in her last four starts for owner/trainer Miller and she now has career earnings of $209,040.
Nebble Hanover (Well Said) made the most of her first start for new connections with a sharp closing effort to capture the $12,700 Mares Open II Handicap pace by a head in 1:53.3 over Ain’t She Special and Dontkarenifido.
It was the third win of the season and 20th career win for Nebble Hanover ($12) who is owned by Dave Dobbelmann and Cathy Dessert and is trained by Edwin Quevedo.
Townline Vickielou (Check Six) held gamely to win by a head over El Parrandero Q in the $9,000 sophomore Open Handicap pace in 1:54.1 for her seventh win of the season and career.
Brad Irvine was the winning pilot for owner/trainer Elson Miller. The $2 win tickets returned $16.
Brady Jenson posted a driving and training double while Elson Miller also had a training double on the program.
Live Racing returns to Running Aces on Sunday night (Aug. 25) for an 11-race program that will feature a carryover of $34,114.31 in the 20-cent Pick-5 Jackpot wager, which will get underway in race seven.
Sunday night is also Pepsi Family Night with specials and kid’s activities, trout fishing, food trucks and Sole Survivor handicapping contest. First post on Sunday is 6 p.m. (CDT).