from harness publicists across North America

Tuesday night’s (Aug. 30) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Running Aces, Saratoga and Hippodrome 3R.

Part Time Lady scores in Running Aces feature

Columbus, MN — The featured event on the Tuesday night program at Running Aces was the $11,000 Mares Open Handicap Pace and in the end it would come down to the two most accomplished mares in the field, separated by just a half-length at the wire in 1:54.

Dee Leftwich photo

Part Time Lady was a 1:54 winner in the Mares Open Handicap Pace.

Hare To Eternity (Nick Roland) stormed out of the gate from the outside seven post and set the fractions of :27.1, :56.4 and 1:24.4 before pocket sitter Part Time Lady (Dean Magee) and closer Windsun T Bird (Jim Marino) began their attack in the stretch drive, and when the dust cleared it would be Part Time Lady checking in first at the wire, over a hard-charging Windsun T Bird, with Hare To Eternity forced to settle for third in the exciting finish.

The winner, a daughter of Jereme’s Jet and a Mooney Svendsen trainee, now sports seven wins in 24 starts on the season and has bankrolled $39,575 this year for owners Ron and Tammy Wells.

The Angels Share ($4.80), a 3-year-old filly by Four Starzzz Shark, paced to a new lifetime mark of 1:55 in just her fifth lifetime start, shaving nearly three full seconds off of her previous best (1:57.4) taken last time out. Driver Jim Marino eased her away fifth from post five before sending her in motion just before the quarter pole, and she cleared easily just past the three-eighths marker and was never in doubt from there, charging home confidently in :28.3 to secure a 3-3/4 length tally in the $5,500 conditioned event for trainer Sean Lancaster and owner Dr. James Findlay.

Look Again Eda ($4.60) posted another ultra-impressive win this night with a new lifetime mark in a thrilling stretch battle with Dakota Jack (Mooney Svendsen). She held off that rival with a neck in front at the wire in 1:54.4 with Rick Magee in the bike for trainer David Flinn and owner Ira Bontreger. This win, in a $5,500 conditioned pace, was the sixth win in 10 lifetime starts for the 3-year-old filly who was unraced at two.

Majestic Lady Jo (Jim Marino) did not disappoint as the even-money favorite ($4.00) in a $3,600 conditioned trotting event, with a dominating gate-to-wire romp by 4-1/4 lengths in 1:58.3 for owner Amy Grunwald and trainer Rick Bertrand. It was the seventh win of the season for the 5-year-old mare by Abra, who set a new track record here back in July (1:56) and has bankrolled $27,210 this season.

Driver Luke Plano picked up a hat trick on the card, with Rick Magee and Gerald Longo both scoring doubles.

The 50-cent Hi-5 wager in race 10 (which had gone unsolved in Sunday’s final race, and again in Tuesday’s ninth race) produced a new record payout of $11,184.45 on the 8-4-5-3-2 combination, with the longest shot (16-1) on top.

The next card of live harness racing at running Aces goes to post at 7 p.m. (CDT) on Wednesday (Aug. 31). The Night of Champions (and closing night) is this coming Saturday (Sept. 3).

— Darin Gagne

Saratoga
Flyhawk Thriller (Cash Hall) dropped and popped while recording an upset in Tuesday night’s featured race at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The Bert Belanger-trained trotter dropped out of the Open but drew post position seven in the $9,000 featured trot on Tuesday. Leading driver Stephane Bouchard sat back patiently with Flyhawk Thriller, who was dismissed at odds of 10-1, as fast fractions were being set during a hotly contested first half. Flyhawk Thriller came first over and overpowered the race’s favorite en route to opening up a big lead past three-quarters. Drama Free (Jordan Derue) shook loose late but never got close to Flyhawk Thriller who stopped the timer in 1:55.4. Drama Free was the runner-up while Time To Quit (Brian Cross) completed the triple. For Flyhawk Thriller, whose 1:54.2 win time set back in May still stands as the fastest for any trotter at Saratoga in 2016, it was win number four on the season. Returning $22.00 to win, Flyhawk Thriller led an exacta and triple that paid $289.50 and $2,309, respectively.

Hippodrome 3R
Three-time Quebec-Bred Series champion and former track record holder Atomic Million AM returned to his home track for the last Tuesday evening race card of the 2016 season and breezed home an easy winner for driver Sylvain Lacaille. Headlining the eighth race feature pace, Lacaille sent the 5-year-old gelded son of Million Dollar Cam right to the front from post five and they never had to look back, wiring the field with ease by 4-1/2 lengths in 1:56. Reel (Jonathan Lachance) was second with Bali (Marie Claude Auger) third. It was the fifth win this year for Atomic Million AM, three of those victories coming at the Hippodrome 3R, for owner, breeder and trainer Alain Martin. Sent off at a generous 1-2 odds, Atomic Million AM paid $3.10 to win. The matchup between the two winningest horses at 3R this season, St Kitts and Jimbelina, never materialized in the fourth race as St Kitts refused to get behind the starting gate for driver Jonathan Lachance and was declared a non-starter. Meanwhile, Jimbelina (Stephane Brosseau) stung EY Cowboy (Louis-Philippe Roy) to the opening quarter but could not catch them in the stretch with EY Cowboy ($4.30) winning by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:57.3. Whitemountain Nemo ($4.10) looked like he was shot out of a cannon in the second race pace for driver Guy Gagnon, leading by three to five lengths the entire mile and then pouring it on in the stretch to score by 7-3/4 lengths in 1:54.3. It was the second straight win and a lifetime mark for the 7-year-old gelding by Yankee Cam. Both Louis-Philippe Roy and Guy Gagnon had driving triples Tuesday.