The $12,000 Open Handicap Trot was the featured event on the Saturday night (July 23) harness racing card at Running Aces and the very sharp six-year-old gelding Flameon (by Angus Hall) picked up his eighth win of the year in just his 13th start by posting a dominant performance in the contest.
It was a three-wide early battle for the lead and Flameon, with driver Dean Magee, charged through the middle of two rivals to take command of the field just before the :28 quarter-mile. He then benefitted from a :30 second stanza and led through the rest of the fractions of :58 and 1:26.4 before trotting home in :29.1 to secure the 1:56 win over the hard-charging pocket-sitter, Big Expense (Mooney Svendsen), and longshot Wheres The Clicker (Brian Detgen).
Flameon is owned and trained by Mark Anderson, and now sports a 2016 bankroll of $39,310. He paid $10.60 at the betting windows.
In the $6,000 Minnesota-Sired B Pace for $6,000, Cyrax (by Intrepid Seelster), with Brian Detgen in the sulky, posted another impressive win, lowering his lifetime mark to 1:54.3 with a two and three-quarter length tally. The win was his sixth in eight lifetime starts for owner James Springer and trainer Robert Lems. He paid $2.60 as the heavy race favourite.
The $9,000 class A split went to Stuckey Dote (by Voracious Hanover), with driver Jim Marino, for two in a row. He also lowered his lifetime mark on Saturday with his two-length score in 1:55. The win was the ninth in 13 career starts for Stuckey Dote, who is owned and trained by Merlin Van Oterloo.
In a $6,000 conditioned trot, the three-year-old filly My Little Susie (by Claudius Augustus) posted her 14th lifetime win -- and 11th of the season -- with trainer/driver Steve Wiseman in the bike, by just holding off last year’s three-year-old Minnesota champion filly Becky Badger Baby (Nick Roland) in a 1:57 lifetime-best mile. She paid $3.60 and is owned by A Piece of The Action LLC.
Driver Nick Roland posted a hat-trick on the card, while Luke Plano and Dean Magee both had driving doubles.
The next card of live harness racing will go to post on Sunday, July 24 with a post time of 6 p.m. CDT. Running Aces will be adding Wednesday live racing starting this coming Wednesday, July 27.