Northfield, OH — According to the betting board, Cool Kate was an absolute cinch to win the $25,000 Halloween Series Final, but 18-1 Lady With No Fear (Fear The Dragon) had other ideas, getting the perfect trip and scoring a monumental harness racing upset at MGM Northfield Park on Sunday (November 26) evening.
With a pair of scratches in the eight-horse field, Cool Kate (Aaron Merriman) and Lady With No Fear (Drew Neill) were both aggressively driven off the wings of the starting gate, but Lady With No Fear saved ground around the first turn, sitting the pocket behind heavy favorite Cool Kate.
Cool Kate opened up a 1-3/4 length lead at the opening quarter in :28.4. With the field in straight alignment turning into the stretch for the first time, the back few began to mix it up with Bee A Hardtthrob (Billy Davis Jr.) leading the outer flow. At the half in :59, Cool Kate continued to put up all the numbers up top.
Into the backstretch, Bee A Hardtthrob continued to apply pressure to Cool Kate, but at three-quarters in 1:27.4, Cool Kate was able to repel that challenge, but Lady With No Fear was breathing down her back after a perfect trip in the pocket. Turning for home, Lady With No Fear bounded out of the pocket and surged by winning in the final strides in 1:57.2. Cool Kate was a neck behind second, while Dotties Sea Shell (Chris Lems) rallied from the clouds to be third.
LADY WITH NO FEAR REPLAY
It was the 15th career victory for the 3-year-old filly, which pushed her earnings to $104,722, for trainer and co-owner Sandra Hennessey and co-owner Paula Sugars. She paid $39.00 to win.
Live racing resumes on Monday (November 27) at 6:00. MGM Northfield Park currently races on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. In December, Northfield Park will add Saturday nights back through the end of the year. For more information on live racing and promotions, visit here.
For complete race results, click here: US Trotting Results
by Michael Carter, for MGM Northfield Park