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Black Mamba AS added the $25,000 championship leg of the Howard Beissinger Memorial Medley trot series at 1-1/4 miles to her impressive resume on Friday, trotting gate to finish line in front in 2:25.2 in an effort that would have made Kobe Bryant proud.
“I knew she’d have a big shot,” exclaimed driver Tyler Smith. “Anette (Lorentzon, the trainer) keeps all her horses fit and sharp and the added quarter mile didn’t bother her or me a bit.” A six-year-old daughter of Lionhunter, Black Mamba AS recorded her 16th lifetime victory and boosted her career bounty to $342,912 with the score. She has finished on the board in 42 of her 77 trips behind the starting gate.
The Friday night feature at Miami Valley was the $22,500 Mares Open Pace, won by Pace Baby Pace and driver Chris Page for the second straight week, but the most anticipated races were a pair of divisions going 5/8ths of a mile dashes in the first leg of the Howard Beissinger Memorial Medley. The second leg of the annual Beissinger Memorial will go a standard mile, then the third and final $25,000 championship leg will go 1-1/4 miles on Friday, Feb. 22. Nominated horses could not have raced for a purse over $15,000 in their last three overnight starts.
Compelling (LeWayne Miller) won the most exciting split, racing in the back half of the pack throughout most of the one lap contest before charging from sixth to first in the stretch drive. The Next Triumph (Trace Tetrick) went nose-to-nose with Compelling most of the stretch, but settled for second in the end. Pink Tulip (Jason Brewer) got up to garner the show dough.