Kat mauls mares in Northfield Open

Northfield, OH – Wasting no time muscling her way to the top, Kat (He’s Watching) took no harness racing prisoners, winning the $18,000 Filly and Mare Open on Saturday (February 11) in gate-to-wire fashion.

Leading the field into the backstretch, Kat (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) lead last week’s Open winner Waitforever N (Billy Davis Jr.) to a snappy opening quarter of :27.

Wrenn felt his first challenger coming to the half in :56.1, as Grace Rocks (Eric Tharps Jr.), parked from the word go, tried to continue advancing on the outside. Heading into the backstretch the final time, it appeared the top three would get away from the pack, but Blue Ivy (Aaron Merriman) made a big three-wide back from sixth to start her rally past three-quarters in 1:24.

Into the final turn, Merriman tipped Blue Ivy three-wide, but coming through the stretch; Kat was able to kick clear to win by 2-1/2 lengths in 1:52 over Waitforever N, who dug in for second, while Blue Ivy was third.

Owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC and trained by Ron Burke, Kat has made $227,365 with 11 victories in 98 starts.

Monday’s (February 13) program will feature a pair of carryovers as both the Pick-5 (R6), and Pick-6 (R8) went uncovered. The $1.00 Pick-5 will feature a carryover of $2,857 and an estimated pool of $15,000, while the .20-cent non-jackpot Pick-6 will feature a carryover of $699. Both wagers feature a low 14% takeout. Also featured Monday are the usual guarantees of $10,000 in the late Pick-4 (R11) and Super Hi-5 (R13).

MGM Northfield Park currently races on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. For more information on live racing and promotions, visit www.northfieldpark.com.

For complete race results, click here.

by Michael Carter, for MGM Northfield Park