Defending Ohio Sires Stakes champion Wittyville completed a sweep of the $15,000 elimination and $40,000 championship round of the James K. Hackett Memorial for state-bred male trotters on Tuesday afternoon (April 16) at Miami Valley Raceway.
Driver Chris Page placed Wittyville fourth approaching a :29 opening quarter, then moved into second-over position behind stablemate Dylan The Great as the field passed the half in :57.4. Nothing changed during the third quarter, although the leader Westfiftysecond quickened the tempo through a :27.3 split.
Wittyville angled three wide for the stretch drive and pushed his nose in front with 100 yards to go. Never Say Uncle finished second by the narrowest of margins, while Otsego and Yes also closed well to secure automatic bids to the $50,000 Scarlet and Gray Invitational for Ohio-sired trotting colts on Saturday, April 27.
The final clocking of 1:55.4 is a lifetime best for Wittyville, who is trained by Ron Burke for Burke Racing Stable, Knox Services of Mt. Vernon, Ohio (also the breeder) and Weaver Bruscemi LLC.
Driver Brett Miller, with ten wins over the past two days, has opened up a comfortable lead on Trace Tetrick in the 2019 Miami Valley dash derby. Through 72 programs of the 87 day meet, Miller has reached the winner’s circle on 151 occasions, 11 more than Tetrick, who has returned to his home base at Harrah’s Hoosier Park but still competes at Miami Valley on dark days in Indiana. Dan Noble and Chris Page have been winning at a high rate in recent weeks as well, and are a strong third and fourth in the standings. All four reinsmen have exceeded $1.2 million in purse earnings at Miami Valley in 2019, topped by Miller at over $1.5 million.
(with files from Miami Valley)