She was hot on ice

An overflow field of 11 filly trotters headlined Wednesday night's card at Balmoral Park, where round two action in the Champion on Ice Series received top billing on a 10-race program.



With the round one runaway winner, Fall Creek Mist, having elected to skip this week's action, this race figured to be a wide-open battle from start to finish. Much to the chagrin of her 10 rivals, Richard Beere's Primmarose Hotspur turned the race into a walk in the park; she made every post a winning one and posted a career-best win, timed in 2:00.2.



Despite being stuck with post position nine, driver Jason Dillander hustled the 5-year-old mare away from the gate; she trotted easily on the front end when she moved past the quarter pole in :29.1. Continuing to hold her rivals at bay as they moved on the backstretch, the Nelson Willis-trained miss was well within herself when she led the field through a half-mile timed in :58.3.



Dillander was able to give his charge a breather on the far turn and they still maintained a comfortable, 1 3/4-length advantage. With a three-quarter mile time of 1:29.2 on the board, the daughter of Primrose Lane set sail for home.



None of her rivals were able to mount a series challenge in the stretch and Dillander sat "chilly" in the bike when he guided Primmarose Hotspur under the finish line to a convincing 3 1/2-length score. Skinan (Dave Magee), the 7-5 favorite of the wagering public, sat on the winner's back every step of the way, but never really mounted a serious assault, and was forced to settle for the bridesmaid role. Dream Alike (Tom Tetrick) rallied late and finished third, 4 1/4 lengths behind the winner. (Balmoral)

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