by Darin Gagne, for Running Aces

Columbus, MN — The Sunday evening (June 10) program at Running Aces played host to the weekly feature, the male Open Pace. This week’s edition saw six geldings line up to vie for an $11,000 purse.

Hawk’s Red Chief (Rick Magee) was the talk of the toteboard, returning with an extra week’s rest after his solid gate-to-wire score in this event on May 27 and looking to extend a three-race win streak. To The Limit (Steve Wiseman) was the clear second choice in the wagering, fresh off a win in this top level last week.

Dee Leftwich photo

To The Limit got up at the wire to defeat Hawk’s Red Chief.

Holdingallthecards (Dean Magee) was fastest off the wings of the gate and took an immediate lead, with Hawk’s Red Chief sending from the outside to find the pocket. Dean Magee and Holdingallthecards controlled the fractions, posting a blistering opening stanza of :26.1 and a half in :54.1 before begining to tire near the three-quarter pole (1:23.2).

Rick Magee had pulled Hawk’s Red Chief from the pocket at the five-eighths marker and was pressing by the leader as they rounded for home, with To The Limit picking up the perfect drafting cover and tipping three-wide into the lane. These two geldings would battle all the way to the wire in a thrilling finish that would take a photo to decide. In the end, it was To The Limit ($5.60) and Wiseman with a neck up at the line in 1:51.1 for two wins in a row for the 6-year-old son od Panspacificflight who is in absolutely razor-sharp form. The winner is owned by Alan Cooper and trained by Kathie Plested, and he has now won 29 races in his 128 career starts.

The $17,000 Minnesota-Sired 3-year-old trotting events were also featured on Sunday, with seven fillies going for $8,500 and seven boys also competing for $8,500.

The filly division was a repeat performance from Dekker (Nick Roland) as she turned in a wire-to-wire romp in 2:00.3 for a lifetime best mile and Bringoverthemoney (Rick Magee) drew away from his rivals to post a solid win in 2:00.2 for his own new lifetime mark.

Dekker ($4.00) is trained by Justin Anfinson and Bringoverthemoney ($5.20) is trained by Brian Detgen.

This coming Tuesday night (June 12) features a nice 11-race program, with a $5,000 guaranteed Late Pick-4 and a carryover of $5,854.66 in the 20-cent Jackpot Pick-5. Post time is 7 p.m. (CDT).