A trio of feature events headlined the Thursday night (June 3) card at Running Aces, including two divisions of the Minnesota-sired sophomore pace.
The $15,000 “A” division featured a rematch of last week’s top two finishers: SD Watchmenow (Brian Detgen) took the top prize in the last outing and was a slight wagering favourite to repeat in this week’s contest, sent off as the 4-5 choice. SD Watchmenow was fastest from the gate and easily found the lead from post four, while Alilthundadownunda (Nick Roland) left alertly from post two to secure pocket position. The leader stole a moderate :59 opening half mile with no challengers and no pressure. The tempo quickened in a :27.3 third panel, and the top two began to separate from the rest of the pack. Turning for home, it was clearly a two-horse race to the wire. Roland steered Alilthundadownunda ($4.40) into the passing lane and had just enough steam to surge past the leader in the final strides, winning by a half length in a career best 1:54.3. SD Watchmenow was game in the narrow defeat, and the pair was seven lengths ahead of long shot Brooklyn Wind Up (Brady Jenson), who checked in third.