COLUMBUS,MN – The 5 year old trotting mare, Majestic Lady Jo (by Abra), posted a new lifetime mark tonight at Running Aces Casino & Racetrack, shaving a full second off her previous best, but she also established a new track record in the process, besting the previous track mark set almost exactly 3 years ago by Shelby County and driver John Delong (1:56.1).
In tonight's contest, a $8,000 conditioned event with a talented field, she was dismissed by the public at 11-1 on the board as the longest odds horse in the field, apparently somebody forgot to tell her that she had little chance to win, because She and Driver Steve Wiseman had a different opinion about her chances tonight.
The duo stepped quickly off the gate from post 6, opening up a commanding early lead at the 28.4 quarter mile, and then widening their lead to more than 3 lengths past the half in 58.2, Majestic Lady Jo was still leading by nearly 5 lengths at the ¾ pole in 1:26.3, and she then coasted home in 29.2 to trip the tele-timer and nab the track record in 1:56 by two full lengths at the wire.
It was a commanding performance for this very nice Trotting Mare, who is owned by Amy Grunwald and Trained by Rick Bertrand.
It was her 6th winning effort this year, in her 28th start of the season, and it bumped her lifetime summary to an impressive 12-13-13 from 77 starts, and she now sports a career bankroll of $51,604. Flashy Lady (Tim Maier) was second, and French Eclipse (Gerald Longo) was third in the record mile.
By Darin Gagne, for Running Aces