by Darin Gagne, for Running Aces
Columbus, MN — The $20,000 Running Aces featured trot was the top event on the Saturday night (June 16) on the Minnesota harness racing card and it would turn out to be another thrilling and record-setting contest when Silverlode set a track standard of 1:54.3.
Overall track record-holder Banker Volo (Brian Detgen), flew off the gate from post eight to establish command with Silverlode following suit from post seven to drop into the pocket. Banker Volo posted a fast early quarter mile of :27.3 and led through the middle panels of :57.1 and 1:26.0 before facing a strong challenge from Ideal Jesse (James Yoder), with Silverlode saving ground along the pylons in third.
As they straightened for home, Banker Volo was facing challenges from all side and could not hold off the late challengers, fastest of all was Silverlode (Lemoyne Svendsen) who utilized the passing lane to her advantage to sweep by the field to score by one length in 1:54.3 and establish an impressive new track record for older trotting mares.
The final clocking was just one-fifth of a second off of the overall track trotting mark of 1:54.2 held by Banker Volo. Ideal Jesse completed a very impressive effort to get second, while Pridecrest (Steve Wiseman) rallied past Banker Volo for third money.
Silverlode ($10.00) is a 9-year-old mare by British Sterling and out of the productive mare Charlotte’s Web.
Saturday’s impressive victory completed three wins in a row for Silverlode and secured lifetime win number 39, while pushing her career purse earnings to $202,187. She is currently under lease to Emilio Cisneros, from the Desomer Stables and is trained by Richard Bertrand.
One lucky patron solved the 20-cent Pick-5 Jackpot wager to collect $8,382.04 and a pair of longshots in the final two races spurred a carryover in both the Pick-3 and Pick-4 wagers for Sunday night (June 17).
Driver Steve Wiseman picked up three wins on the evening, while Lemoyne “Mooney” Svendsen completed a driving double. Tomorrow’s program features a $7,500 Guaranteed Pool in the Late Pick-4 wager and is headlined by the $20,000 Running Aces featured pace.