Ron Burke trainee Cleveland Darby, who swept the Ohio Triple Crown with wins in the Ohio State Fair, Ohio Sires Stakes Championship and the Ohio Breeders Championship, will look for five wins in a row when she heads to The Red Mile to compete in the Grade 3 International Stallion Stakes for two-year-old pacing fillies, sponsored by The Cuddy Farms, on Thursday, Oct. 8.

The Downbytheseaside-Loreenas Ruffian filly, a half sister to millionaire stakes winner Women Layer, enters the $163,000 USD opening division of the International Stallion Stakes from a 1:53.2 effort in the Ohio Breeders Championship during Little Brown Jug week in Delaware, Ohio. Chris Page retains the driving assignment out of post two on the 9-5 morning line favourite and faces nine other rivals, including Holy (driven by Todd McCarthy, post three, 6-1 morning line odds), who went pillar to post in a Grade 3 Bluegrass Stakes division last Thursday with a 1:51.3 effort. JK Alwaysbpositive (Tim Tetrick, post five, 9-2), runner-up in the Kentucky Golden Rod Series final and runner-up in the faster Bluegrass Stakes division last week won by Seaside Ubeaut, will also go to the gate in the Grand Circuit event in race three on the 12-race card.

Freshman trotting colts and geldings will compete in their first of two $135,500 USD divisions of the International Stallion Stakes in race nine on the day, sponsored by the Greenshoe Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms. Trainer/driver Ake Svanstedt sends out morning line chalk Red Storm Hanover (post two, 5-2) in the eight-horse affair from a fourth-place finish in a Bluegrass division last week. The field also includes Nights In Miami (Marvin Luna, post one, 8-1), who was the runner-up in a Bluegrass dash to Hambletonian winner Apex’s half brother in Command Center, as well as Grade 3 Madison County winner The Reason (Yannick Gingras, post four, 6-1) and a pair of Marcus Melander trainees, Free Scottie (Mattias Melander, post 7, 9-2) and Gagosian (Dexter Dunn, post eight, 6-1).

Kentucky Championship Series winner Whateverittakes As (Tony Hall, post eight, 9-5) will have to overcome the outermost draw in the other division of the International Stallion Stakes for two-year-old trotting males, sponsored by the Burke Racing Stable. The Anette Lorentzon-trained son of Walner lost by a nose in a gutsy first-over gambit against Ake Svanstedt pupil Yankee Boss in a 1:52 mile in a Bluegrass division last week. His competition includes another Svanstedt trainee in Easy Down Blonde (Tim Tetrick, post six, 5-2), runner-up to Mohawk Million winner Wrong Sounds Right in the New Jersey Classic final and entering from a break in stride in the Bluegrass, along with a pair of third-place finishers from Bluegrass Stakes in Canadian invader Mahalo (Scott Zeron, post two, 6-1) and Kentucky Commonwealth Series final winner End Result (Dexter Dunn, post three, 9-2).

Thursday’s card includes a $6,063.81 carryover in the 20-cent Super High 5, which is offered in race five and has a takeout of 15 per cent. First-race post time is 1 p.m.

(The Red Mile; photo of Cleveland Darby winning the Ohio Breeders Championship at the Delaware County Fair)