Up Front Kellie Jo was a front-stepping winner in Thursday’s $12,000 Fillies and Mares Open at Northfield Park, much to the delight of the favourite players that backed her at the betting windows.
Sent off at odds of 2-1, Up Front Kellie Jo shot to the lead from Post 6 for driver Keith Kash, Jr., and after rolling the field through fractions of :27, :56 and 1:24.4 the mare finished off her foes with a :29.1 closing quarter. She was a head better than runner-up Stacked Deck in 1:54. Taking home the third prize was Sweetheart Dance.
Ron Steck trains the eight-year-old daughter of Bettors Delight-Lifes Highway for owner Ed Mullinax of Amherst, Ohio and Mark Ford of Campbell Hall, New York. It was the ninth tally of the season for the 47-time winner who lifted her lifetime earnings to $876,969 with the victory.