Melillo avenged two recent narrow misses in Grand Circuit finals with a signature-event win at Northfield Park on Saturday, Aug. 15 when he won the $416,667 Grade 2 Carl Milstein Memorial for invited three-year-old pacers in 1:50.4.

Ronnie Wrenn Jr. sent Melillo into the early fray sandwiched by Fire Run (Atlee Bender) to the inside and Myboypank (Marvin Luna), who fired out from post five and muscled to the front coming off the first turn. Melillo briefly held position to allow that rival to clear, then carried on to the top at the quarter in :26.4 before yielding to barnmate Aces And Cinches (Yannick Gingras). Aces and Cinches reached the half in 54.3 and maintained control through three-quarters in 1:22 with Melillo in the pocket. Melillo waited for the passing lane, and he exploded up the pylons to pass Aces And Cinches while Fire Run and Redland Rocket Man (Brett Miller) arrived on the scene. Those two charged home but were unable to nab Melillo, who prevailed by a half-length in 1:50.4. Redland Rocket Man was second over Fire Run.

Wrenn said the colt is trending up.

“He’s peaking at the right time and there’s a lot of big races coming up,” he said. “When he got into the passing lane he exploded.

“He’s figuring it out and knows how to win now."

After finishing second by a head in the Adios, Melillo delivered at 1-5 odds in the Milstein, earning his biggest victory to date. Ron Burke trains the son of Sweet Lou-Rosemary Rose, a homebred for Burke Racing Stable LLC, Jason Melillo and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. Melillo is now six-for-25 lifetime with $1,114,540 in the bank. He paid $2.60 to win.

The undercard featured the Tom Aldrich Memorial Trot and Myron Charna President's Pace, both $138,889 invitational events for Ohio-sired four-year-olds and older.

Jurassic Hattie crossed the wire second in the Aldrich Memorial, but an inquiry resulted in first-place finisher Legacy Affair being placed second and the Volstead-High Gear Sahbra mare elevating to the win. From her rail start, she was the first one to the lead in a :26.4 quarter before yielding to Legacy Affair and Wrenn, who led to the half in :55 and three-quarters in 1:23.3. On the final turn, Jurassic Hattie popped to the outside off her ideal trip for Brett Miller but couldn't get to Legacy Affair in the final stages, missing by a neck. 

However, the excitement quickly turned to anxious moments as the judges posted the inquiry sign. After reviewing the stretch action, the judges determined that Legacy Affair had gone inside two pylons at the top of the stretch and placed her second, putting Jurassic Hattie in the winner’s circle after the 1:53.3 mile. Jogging Full Trot (Chris Lems) saved ground and rallied for third.

The victory gave Jurassic Hattie her second straight win over Legacy Affair after taking last week’s $91,549 Don Millar Ohio State Fair Aged Mare Trot. Jurassic Hattie is now a 17-time winner from 46 career outings and has pushed her earnings to $994,414. The five-year-old is owned by her breeder Jerry Welch and trained by Stacey Van Huizen. She returned $8.60.

A familiar face returned to the Ohio spotlight in a big way Saturday night as Clever Cody dominated the Myron Charna President's Pace. Clever Cody was a force in the Ohio Sires Stakes at two and three, capturing back-to-back championships and establishing himself as one of the division’s toughest competitors. Now owned and trained by Francois Lecomte of Saint-Hyacinthe, Que. and driven by Luke Ebersole, the veteran pacer was aggressively handled off the wings and secured the front from the inside draw with a burst of speed going to the quarter in :26.

Clever Cody put up a :54.1 half while under pressure from Downbythewater (David Miller), then shook that rival off while maintaining the tempo to three-quarters in 1:22.3. Charlie May (Dan Noble), winner of the 2022 edition, attacked out of the pocket on the last turn, but Clever Cody put up stout resistance and held on by three-quarters of a length in 1:50.1. Rose Run Zane (Justin Irvine) made a big move from the back for third.

"When you have the rail at Northfield you just got to go," said Ebersole of the winning trip.

The clocking matched Clever Cody's career mark as the son of The Panderosa-Cams Van Go scored his fourth win this year in 10 outings. The five-year-old stallion is now 15-for-50 lifetime with earnings of $1,036,218. He paid $10.60 at the windows.

(With files from Northfield Park)