Columbus, MN – Mother Mary stole the show at Running Aces on Thursday night (Aug. 7) with a sensational 5-1/2 length romp in 1:50.4 to become the fastest pacing mare ever at Running Aces.
The big win came in the featured $15,500 Mares Open Handicap which went to post with seven talented contenders.
Mother Mary (Rick Magee) and Twist Little Girl N (Mooney Svendsen) battled for the early lead with the latter landing on top through a blistering :25.4 opening quarter while Deja Vu Babyboo (Luke Plano) landed in third and Kizzzmelikeumissme (Dean Magee) traveled in fourth early.
Twist Little Girl N dictated the terms in the middle stages in :54.1 and 1:22.1 and still had the lead as they swung for home but Mother Mary was loaded with pace from the pocket and exploded through the lane while Deja Vu Babyboo shook free to be second best and JK My Girl (Nick Roland) rallied from the back of the pack to grab third money.
Mother Mary (Rockin Image) now shows five wins from 11 starts this year and 16 career wins for owner/breeder Joe Casagranda. She is trained by Mikaela Del Giudice and returned $4.80 for the win.
Evil L (Fear The Dragon) captured the $9,000 sophomore Open Handicap pace with a half-length tally in 1:55.2 with Rick Magee in the bike for owner/trainer Josiah Miller. Skooch’s Valentine and Tutto Bene rounded out the top three.
Evil L returned $3.60 as the favorite.
Rick Magee led the program with three driving wins while Josiah Miller had a training double.
Live racing returns to Running Aces on Sunday night (Aug. 10) for Pepsi Family Night with a 12-race program starting at 6 p.m. (CDT).