The final Tuesday night program of live harness racing at Running Aces in 2017 is in the books, and the track will close out its season this coming Saturday (September 16) with its big Night of Champions program, which will get underway at 6 p.m. (CDT).
Tuesday’s featured $10,000 Mares Open Handicap Pace was another edition of the Kiss On The Lips Show, as she once again dominated in gate-to-wire fashion with Nick Roland at the controls.
Kiss On The Lips has been an absolute monster during the last two months of her ‘Aces’ campaign, as she has won six of her last seven races, and, surprisingly doing so without having been the favourite in any of those races.
This week, Roland sent ‘Sissy’ (Kiss On The Lips) right to the lead from her assigned outside post, as expected. Running Aces' all-time leading driver then was able to orchestrate some very cushy fractions up front (:28.2, :58, and 1:26.4). Once the front-end strategy was successfully executed, there was no chance of catching the dynamic duo. Her final time was 1:53.4 and the victory was her third consecutive win at the track’s top Open level for pacing mares.
Kiss On The Lips ($5.40) has now won eight of her 29 starts this year. She has notched 28 career wins and is proudly owned by Peg Hoffman. She is trained by John Rogers.
The Night of Champions program on Saturday will showcase the Minnesota-sired horses, with Championship finals in each division. Estimated purses are in excess of $300,000. The track’s season finale program will get underway at 6:00 p.m. (CDT) and there will be mandatory payouts in all wagering pools on Saturday.
(With files from Running Aces)