Dayton, OH – No Foolin April received a confident drive from Brett Miller and cruised to victory in the $28,000 Filly and Mare Open Pace on Thursday night (Dec. 18) at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway.
Miller had No Foolin April off the gate’s wings quickly and received the first call ahead of Angel Hill (Kayne Kauffman). Hey Hey Mama (Luke Hanners), who was sent out of post seven, couldn’t find an early hole and was forced to the front in fast :26.
No Foolin April was not content to sit second and retook before the three-eighths mark. The half and three-quarters came and went in :56.4 and 1:24.1. Beautiful Seaside (Trace Tetrick) made a first-over move and pressured the leader but couldn’t stick a nose in front. No Fooling April, a 4-year-old Nob Hill High mare, crossed the line 2-1/4 lengths ahead of Beautiful Seaside and a closing Fearless Ginger (Chris Page).
The winning time of 1:52.3 was compromised by strong winds and a “sloppy” track.
No Foolin April picked up her second straight win for breeder-owner-trainer Adam Short.
In the $14,000 conditioned pace, Northern Storm (Tyler Smith) went from worst-to-first in the final half mile and scored a 30-1 upset.
Sarasota Hanover (Luke Hanners) led the field of seven through the fractions of :26.4, :57.1 and 1:26.1. Tie The Knot (David Miller) pressured the leader down the backstretch. The eventual winner was sent three-wide around the final turn and swooped past the tiring leaders. Northern Storm outsprinted Nebble Hanover (Luke Plano) and Mel’s Vicki Lou (Josh Sutton) in the lane to record the 1:56.1 upset.
Northern Storm is a 7-year-old McArdle mare who won the 22nd time of her career. She is trained by Jason Brewer for the partnership of Kirk Nichols, Levi Bontrager and Jamie Cornett.
Veteran reinsmen David Miller and Trace Tetrick recorded triples on the card.
Racing resumes on Friday (Dec. 19) with a 4 p.m. (EST) post time. Free past performance pages are available at hollywooddaytonraceway.com.
Saturday (Dec. 20) will be the Dayton Raceway and Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association’s TV and Ticket Give-a-way. Five lucky fans will walk away with a grand prize. It is free to enter, but you must be present to win.