The quartet of Perfect Sting, Lous Pearlman, Whichwaytothebeach and American Courage lead a balanced field of 13 for the $661,800 Little Brown Jug, presented by the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association, to be held Thursday, Sept. 23 at the Delaware County Fair.
Perfect Sting, winner of $1,239,233, heads the second elimination. The ultra-consistent son of Always B Miki was undefeated at two and has hit the board in all 10 of his 2021 starts. He has picked up second place finishes in several three-year-old classics - the $1 million North America Cup, $700,000 Meadowlands Pace, $300,000 Max Hempt Memorial and $276,150 Cane Pace.
Perfect Sting is owned by his breeders, Brittany Farms and Val D’Or Farms, and is conditioned by Joe Holloway. He will be driven by David Miller and will leave from the outside post six.
American Courage (Matt Kakaley) will have post two in the same elimination. The son of American Ideal was originally not eligible for the 76th pacing classic, but became eligible for a $45,000 supplemental fee as a result of his victory in the $500,000 Messenger Stakes. He has earned a total of $532,504 for the Fiddler Creek Stable. Travis Alexander, who won back-to-back Jugette titles with Just Wait Kate (2005) and Eternitys Delight (2006), is making his first training start in the Little Brown Jug.
The $253,000 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champion, Lous Pearlman (Yannick Gingras), is the 2-1 morning line favourite in the first elimination for two-time Little Brown Jug training champ Ron Burke. The homebred son of Sweet Lou has earned $444,606 for the Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, Elizabeth Novak and Howard Taylor.
Whichwaytothebeach is the 3-1 second choice. The Somebeachsomewhere gelding has hit the board in 19 of his 20 career starts and had amassed $455,683 for his owners Alan Johnston and John Craig. The three-time Jug champion Brett Pelling trains Whichwaytothebeach.
The 20-race Jug Day card is set with a 12 noon post time.
First $132,360 Elimination
Post - Horse (Driver/Trainer) - Morning Line Odds
1. Borntobeshameless (Dan Noble/Christi Noble) - 9/2
2. Lous Pearlman (Yannick Gingras/Ron Burke) - 2-1
3. Simon Says Hanover (Scott Zeron/Tony Alagna) - 12-1
4. Mysweetboymax (Aaron Merriman/Sam DePinto) - 6-1
5. Whichwaytothebeach (Andrew McCarthy/Brett Pelling) - 3-1
6. Always A Miki (Dexter Dunn/Nancy Takter) - 10-1
7. Town Gossip (Joe Bongiorno/Jen Bongiorno) - 8-1
Second $132,360 Elimination
Post - Horse (Driver/Trainer) - Morning Line Odds
1. Rockyroad Hanover (Dexter Dunn/Tony Alagna) - 7-2
2. American Courage (Matt Kakaley/Travis Alexander) - 6-1
3. Ill Drink To That (Tim Tetrick/Chris Ryder) - 4-1
4. Water Sports Teen (Joe Bongiorno/Jen Bongiorno) - 8-1
5. Bayfield Beach (Yannick Gingras/Ron Burke) - 12-1
6. Perfect Sting (David Miller/Joe Holloway) - 2-1
The top four finishers in the eliminations will return for the $397,080 final.
(With files from Little Brown Jug)