Aiken connected horses run 1-2

Jim and Debbie Miller's Daisy Devine made it three consecutive stakes victories with a 2 1/2-length win in the 68th edition of $75,000 Mardi Gras Handicap Tuesday afternoon at the Fair Grounds.

It was the third straight turf stakes victory for the daughter of Kafwain. The dark bay mare had scored wins in her last two stakes races prior to the Mardi Gras, the 1-mile Pago Hop Stakes at the Fair Grounds on Nov. 26, and the 1 1/16-mile Pin Oak Valley View Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 21. Daisy Devine is conditioned by Andrew McKeever at the racetrack. The filly was broken and trained in Aiken by Todd Turner, and would be sent on to Legacy Stable's Ron Stevens and Brad Stauffer before starting her racing career.

The Mardi Gras Handicap featured a short field with only five starters (two of the horses scratched), and the race itself became a contest between the two favorites, Daisy Devine and Cherokee Queen, said Jim Miller, in a phone interview Tuesday evening. Daisy Devine had been bet down to 7-5, and Cherokee Queen was the odds on choice in the wagering at 4-5.

Daisy Devine's James Graham rode a masterful race, said Miller. Alluring Squall was the contest's other speed horse.

"She needs to be off the pace and has to have a clear path to run," said Miller. "She broke first out of the gate, and he (Graham) had to pull her back, and she settled into second on the outside of Alluring Squall."

The 4-year-old filly took command at the 5/16th's pole uncoiling a powerful turn of foot drawing off as she entered the stretch, and won convincingly under strong urging by Graham.

"Cherokee Queen made a run at her, but she didn't have enough gas," said Miller.

A seven-time stakes winner, Clark Brewster's Cherokee Queen was coming off two consecutive stakes wins at the Fair Grounds. The dark bay mare is trained by Steve Margolis, and is a half-sister to stakes winner Indian Legend. The seven-year-old mare was broken and trained by Tim and Cary Frommer. The graded stakes winning mare may have made her last start, and she may soon be headed to the breeding shed. Cherokee Queen increased her lifetime earnings to $628,312.

Daisy Devine is being pointed toward the Bayou Handicap. The 2011 winner of the Bayou Handicap, Upperline, was broken and trained in Aiken by Legacy Stable's Ron Stevens and Brad Stauffer. The Grade 3 Double Dog Dare Stakes at Keeneland in April is another race Miller is considering for the filly, now a winner of four stakes races.

Daisy Devine increased her lifetime earnings to $578,349.