Columbus, MN — The Thursday night (June 29) harness racing program at Running Aces carried the weekly $18,500 Mares Open Pace and this week’s edition drew a field of eight talented distaffers.

Divine Art (Dean Magee) was the talk of the toteboard as the 9-5 favorite while Moosette (Jacob Cutting) was a close second choice at 2-1.

Wonder Of Love scored in 1:51.4. Kathleen Riley photo.

JK My Girl (Todd Warren) was the fastest off the car from post eight while Wonder Of Love and driver Mooney Svendsen also left sharply from post four. Those two settled in the top spots to register the quarter in :27.1 before Svendsen moved his charge to the lead heading for the :56.1 half-mile.

Moosette tried a first over bid down the backstretch and Divine Art followed cover. Moosette drew close to the leader near the 1:24.1 three-quarters but began to tire as they rounded for home while Divine Art moved forward.

Wonder Of Love ($11.60) still had plenty to offer in the lane and impressively kicked clear to win by two lengths while Divine Art picked up the pieces for second and JK My Girl was third best in the 1:51.4 mile.

It was the 11th win of the season for the 5-year-old daughter of Shadyshark Hanover, who is owned and trained by Kimberley Hines.

The program also featured Minnesota-sired freshman and sophomore pacers with two divisions in each age group.

Gotubydashorthairs (Nick Roland, $17.40) posted a career best 1:53.3 mile to just defeat King Of Aces (Luke Plano) in a thrilling photo-finish with Dougsmonkeybusines (Cutting) home third in the $22,000 sophomore ‘A’ division. The winner is by Wind Me Up and is owned by Mark Anderson and trained by Gordon Graham.

El Perrandero Q (Cutting, $23.00) was very sharp in the $18,250 freshman boys pace to capture his first lifetime win over Moon Kid Photo and Terror You Apart in 1:57. The winner is also by Wind Me Up and is owned by Triple Q Stables and trained by Edwin Quevedo.

Deja Vu Babyboo (Roland, $38.20) won a thrilling stretch battle in the freshman filly pace to find victory in her career debut, stopping the timer in 1:59. Apple Juice was promoted to second and Delco Irene to third after Moonlit Night was demoted for interference. The winner is a daughter of Karpathian Kid and is owned by Van Otterloo Stables and trained by Bob Lems.

Meechee (Brad Irvine, $22.20) posted a career best 1:56.1 effort to capture the $14,500 sophomore ‘B’ event in a three-way photo finish over Polar Storm and Hunky Dory. The winner is a filly by Fancy Schmancy and is owned by Peg Hoffman and is also trained by Irvine.

Jacob Cutting led the program with three driving wins while Nick Roland, Brad Irvine, Brady Jenson and Edwin Quevedo all posted doubles.

Live racing returns to Running Aces on Sunday (July 2) and Monday (July 3) with first post at 7 p.m. (CDT).