Rookie Fillies Repeat In Maryland Sire Stakes
After her 4-1/2-length score last week, Ragtime Red delivered a similarly dominant performance in the second Maryland Sire Stakes preliminary round for two-year-old fillies, held on Wednesday, Aug. 28 at Ocean Downs, pacing a lifetime-best 1:55.2 mile in her $13,514 division. Pacer Lus Darling and trotter K J The Thirteenth also repeated in their respective divisions.
Ragtime Red (pictured above) sat the pocket behind 19-1 pacesetter Post Jolene through a :58 half before Trae Porter moved her off the pegs and brushed to the lead in a :28.1 third split. One activated, the Getitoffyourchest-Red High Heels filly sped four lengths clear of her six rivals and she maintained that margin at the winning post over Toys Little Tinker, who rallied for second. Post Jolene faded to third.
Michael Hall trains Ragtime Red, a three-time winner from nine starts who competes as a homebred for David Banks. She paid $2.10 to win.
In the other pacing split, Lus Darling ($3) and driver Eric Davis turned aside a backstretch challenge from Charlotteslove before evading pocket foe Mygirlmia by 2-1/4 lengths and winning in a career best-equalling 1:59.2. Jerry Nock owns, trains and bred the four-time winner from 10 starts who is a daughter of Rustys For Real-Southern Lulu.
In the lone trotting division, K J The Thirteenth ($2.40) and trainer/driver John Wagner strolled through the first three-quarters in 1:33 before withstanding a late charge from Yall Just Love Me by a diminishing neck in 2:02.3. The Il Mago-My Kid Sister filly has won three times from seven starts for owners Kelsey Wagner and Scott Woogen.
The sub-featured $12,838 Daryl Glazer Memorial, for Preferred trotters, went to Muscledover ($3.20), who reeled off a second consecutive top-level win in authoritative fashion. Now an 11-time winner, the five-year-old Dover Dan gelding pushed to the early lead and kept the late-rallying Judge Bob 4-1/4 lengths at bay for a 1:56.1 score. Russell Foster was at the lines for trainer Edwin Gannon Jr. and the partnership of Zippett Racing Stable and Amos Lengacher.
Davis, Foster and Johnathan Ahle all scored driving doubles on the 11-race card.
Live harness racing returns to Ocean Downs on Thursday, Aug. 29. First post is 7:05 p.m.
(With files from Ocean Downs)