The aptly named Crews Hilltopper will enter next Monday’s matinee as the likely favourite in the $20,000 championship leg of the Robert J. 'Skeeter' Brown Memorial trotting series at Miami Valley Raceway.
The four-year-old son of Break The Bank K became the only back-to-back winner in the series when he won the final $12,000 preliminary leg on Monday in 1:57.2. Capturing their first series victories and also qualifying for the final were Sweet Swan Of All in 1:58.3 and Triple Seven Seven in 1:59.2.
Trevor Smith guided Crews Hilltopper to his second straight success, besting Well Im Fancy (Trace Tetrick) and Monday Nite (Randy Tharps) in an exciting stretch battle. Larry Tinch trains the winner, an Ohio county fair stalwart in 2018, for owners John Foster and Ray Helton. The 1:57.2 clocking established a new lifetime mark for Crews Hilltopper despite a wet track dulled by persistent rain.
Sweet Swan Of All is another who got valuable seasoning at county fairs last year, although his starts were at Indiana fair venues. The four-year-old Swan For All gelding notched his first win of 2019 by holding off Jimmy Dean (Mike Oosting) and Innisfallen (Brett Miller). Miami Valley’s leading driver Trace Tetrick gave Sweet Swan Of All his commands for trainer Lester Raber, who co-owns the winner with Floyd Raber.
Triple Seven Seven, a three-year-old filly by Tom Cango, copped the other split with a 1:59.2 victory over My Pure Honey (Brett Miller) and Bad Babysitter (Josh Sutton). Pasko Vucinaj owns and trains the lass whose previous fastest win was a 2:11 triumph as a two-year-old at the Greenville, Ohio fair. Mike Oosting was in her sulky.
Finalists in each of the nine Miami Valley’s Lebanon Legends Series are determined by purse earnings in two preliminary legs. The top nine, in order, in the R. J. Brown Memorial, are: Crews Hilltopper, Sweet Swan For All, Triple Seven Seven, Monday Nite, Voyage To Paris, My Pure Honey, Innisfallen, Jimmy Dean and Call Me The Fireman.
Final preliminary legs to determine the finalists in both the Omar Hiteman and Dr. Dan Farwick Memorial Series will be contested on the Tuesday matinee. Post time is 2:05 p.m.
A tragic event occurred after a mishap in Race 12. Hes A Perfect Ten unseated his driver, Kayne Kauffman, and got loose. The five-year-old No Pan Intended gelding got into one of the track’s infield ponds. Staff did what they could to coerce Hes A Perfect Ten out of the water, but the bay ultimately drowned.
A statement from Miami Valley’s senior director of marketing, Jerry Abner, appears below.
“On Monday, March 25, at Miami Valley Gaming & Racing an unfortunate accident occurred during the day’s live harness racing meet that resulted in the death of a horse. The horse became spooked and ran into a pond at the track where it drowned despite efforts by MVG staff to save the animal. The safety of our staff, harness racing drivers and the horses is always of utmost concern at Miami Valley Gaming. We regularly review safety procedures and protocol and will continue to do so. Thanks to the Warren County Technical Rescue Team, Turtle Creek Fire and EMS, and rescue personnel from Salem Township, Harlan Township, Deerfield Township and City of Lebanon who assisted MVG with the incident.”
Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the connections of Hes A Perfect Ten.
(With files from Miami Valley Raceway)