by Darin Gagne, Running Aces track announcer

Columbus, MN — The featured event on the harness racing card at Running Aces on Tuesday night (Aug. 9) was the $6,000 2-year-old Open Pace and it was another display of talent from the filly Whatitdo Babyboo (by Voracious Hanover), as she put forth a come-from-behind winning effort with Steve Wiseman in the bike.

Dee Leftwich photo

Whatitdo Babyboo was a 1:58.1 winner on Tuesday at Running Aces.

Wiseman was in no particular hurry with his filly off the gate and settled away seventh during the :29.2 quarter-mile. They began their rally from seventh on the outside at the very soft 1:01.2 half and continued to rally on the outside from fourth at the three-quarter pole and drove past the leaders to post a three-quarter length tally with a :27.3 last quarter and an eye-opening :55.2 final half in stopping the clock at 1:58.1.

This was the third straight win and a new lifetime mark for this talented filly, owned by Van Oterloo Stables and trained by David Flynn. She paid just $2.80 as the race favorite.

The sharp pacing mare MJ’s Last Dance was also razor sharp, posting her second dominating performance in a row in a $6,000 conditioned pace for fillies and mares. Trainer/driver Luke Plano sent her right to the lead again from post four and she was never in doubt with a commanding performance in 1:54.2, pacing her final stanza in :28.1 to keep her rivals at bay. The final margin was 1-3/4 lengths and she paid $6.20 at the windows.

Dakota Jack (A Piece of The Action LLC) also shined on the Tuesday card, posting his third local win in four starts in 1:54.4 with trainer/driver Steve Wiseman in tow. They dominated the proceedings with a gate-to-wire score by 2-3/4 lengths, throwing down a :27 final quarter in paying just $2.20 as the very heavy chalk with Grey Bell (Rick Magee) second and Polar Vortex (Ryan Lems) home third.

The next card of live harness racing at Running Aces goes to post Wednesday (Aug. 10) at 7 p.m. (CDT).