Birr Castle and driver Scott Zeron fanned out wide from sixth on the final turn and stormed through the stretch to win the $985,916 Breeders Crown Two-Year-Old Filly Trot (Grade 1) in a 1:53 divisional track record, kicking off the 2026 championship weekend at Eldorado Scioto Downs.
Kissme Ifyoucan (Austin Hanners) fired off the starting gate from the outside post nine to lead the field around the first turn, but Climatic Hanover (Todd McCarthy) was already applying pressure and grabbed the front just past the :27 opening quarter. Her time on top was short-lived as the 6-5 favoured Marcus Melander trainee Blue Ranger (Dexter Dunn) pushed on to take control on the way to a :55.1 half.
Meanwhile, first-over Nevis Peak (Yannick Gingras) was leading an outer flow, followed by Melander stablemates Two Day Hanover (James MacDonald) and Birr Castle. Nevis Peak was a parked-out leader at three-quarters, in 1:23.1, as the group geared up for the stretch drive.
Zeron moved three-wide coming off the final turn and Birr Castle trotted home in :29.1 to win for Melander and breeder/owner Ed Lohmeyer and Dr. Patty Hogan’s Pheasant Hill Farm of Cream Ridge, New Jersey. Nevis Peak finished one length behind in second over Blue Ranger.
“Maybe she’s not the absolute best horse every time she steps on the track, but she’s the one that wants it more than any of the other ones, and that was what she displayed today,” said Zeron. “I’ve been first-up a lot with her and I was trying to avoid that today because first-up in the Breeders Crown usually means first-up before the tote board and that’s a long way to go, especially for young horses. I ended up being third-over, maybe out of position, but they were racing enough where they came back to us.”
Birr Castle was the “Win and You’re In” starter in the Breeders Crown, advancing directly to the final thanks to her victory in the Grade 1 Jim Doherty Memorial on Sept. 18 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park.
The Captain Corey-Melania filly went over the million-dollar mark in career earnings, sending her bankroll to $1,214,275. She has now won six races and finished no worse than third in nine starts.
The win gave Zeron his 10th Breeders Crown trophy and Melander his eighth. It was the first for Pheasant Hill Farm’s Lohmeyer and Hogan.
“I can’t say I was confident because it’s an incredible group of fillies, but I knew she belonged in it,” said Dr. Hogan, the renowned equine veterinarian. “She’s just been wonderful. She loves to come from behind. It was a lot of ground to make up and it’s such a great group of fillies, but she’s unbelievable. I’m just in awe.
“I’ve fixed lots of horses that have won Breeders Crowns, but I really didn’t appreciate the feeling that everyone was chasing – and now I get it. It’s unbelievable, incredible.”
Birr Castle was raised at Lohmeyer and Hogan’s farm in New Jersey.
“Eddie said why don’t we keep this filly and get a mark on her because the mares [in her family] are getting old,” said Hogan. “We can keep her as a broodmare.”
Sent off as the 7-2 third choice, Birr Castle paid $9.40 to win.
The Breeders Crown championships can be watched via the live stream below. The Breeders Crown Two-Year-Old Filly Trot was the seventh race on the card at the 3:35:10 mark.
(With files from Breeders Crown)