After getting a win in the first leg of the Ohio Sires Stakes, Tom Largo's trainer Scott Cox was careful not to rest on his laurels.
“I just try to stay humble,” Cox said at the time. “We have to go clear to September, so it’s a long season. But if we can improve a little bit each time out, then maybe we’ll have a shot at the end.”
The first leg of the Ohio Sires Stakes (OHSS) for sophomore colt trotters was held on May 2 at Miami Valley Raceway and Tom Largo stood out, winning by three lengths in 1:54.4. The Long Tom-Smith Hall gelding went on to showcase the improvement Cox was seeking, taking a division of the second leg of the OHSS in a lifetime mark of 1:53.1 at Eldorado Scioto Downs on May 25.
“It was a really nice race,” said Cox of the gelding owned by Jughead Stables, G Peters and Robert Kubiak. “He didn’t have to do the work and he got a real nice trip.”
Now two-for-two in the OHSS this year — the only three-year-old colt trotter to have such a distinction — Tom Largo will look to keep that perfect mark intact on Saturday, June 13 as Scioto Downs hosts two $75,000 USD divisions in the third leg as part of a 16-race card beginning at 5:25 p.m. Driven by Chris Lems, Tom Largo will leave from the rail in the second of the two divisions and will face off against the likes of Big Ranger and Rose Run Banker in what Cox views as another opportunity for the horse to improve.
“This week is a tough race, but I’m not worried about trying to win,” he said. “I’m just worried about getting him better each week.”
Saturday’s race should prove to be a good measuring stick for Tom Largo, who recorded five wins — including the Ohio State Fair Stakes and the Buckeye Stallion Series final — and one runner-up finish while banking $172,761 in nine starts as a freshman and has two wins and two seconds with $110,979 in earnings in four starts this year. He is the 5-2 co-second choice with Rose Run Banker behind 8-5 favourite Big Ranger.
Big Ranger, the reigning Ohio Horse of the Year who won the Ohio Triple Crown as part of a seven-for-seven freshman season, will leave from post three. The In Range-Big Blue Bird colt has two wins in four starts this season and is coming off a track record and lifetime-best performance of 1:51.2 in the second leg of the OHSS, which increased his lifetime earnings to $620,179. Saturday will mark his first start as part of the Anette Lorentzon stable and with Tim Tetrick in the sulky, as trainer Ronnie Gillespie trained and drove him in each of his first 11 career races.
Rose Run Banker and Chris Page will leave alongside Big Ranger from post four. A winner in the opening leg in a lifetime-best 1:53.3, the In Range-Hot Chili Girl colt finished as the runner-up to Big Ranger in the second leg. The Ron Burke trainee has three wins and one second in four seasonal starts and $406,571 in lifetime earnings.
To his credit, Tom Largo continues to earn praise from Cox for his laid-back demeanor, and the trainer has noted how he has developed more speed off the gate compared to a season ago. Those improvements are paying off and Cox is eager to see how the horse fares on Saturday.
“Most likely, he won’t have to do the work in it, so hopefully he can stay close and try to be there at the end,” he said. “But if we can just come out of the race sound and able to race again, that’s the main thing.”
In the evening's first division, Soulful Saul (Luke Hanners) is the slight 2-1 favourite on the morning line and will leave from post six alongside 5-2 second choice Time Has Come (Kurt Sugg) in the far outside post seven. Soulful Saul finished his freshman season with a 4-2-3 record and $130,001 in earnings in 14 starts. He has a season-best finish of third in three starts in 2026. The Ready For Moni-Celebrity Obsesion gelding is trained by Steve Carter.
The Uncle Peter-Contessa Leigh gelding Time Has Come has hit the board in all five seasonal starts with four wins and one second. The Miles Wollam trainee notched a victory in each of the first two legs of the Buckeye Stallion Series this season and recorded a lifetime mark of 1:56 in the second leg at Northfield Park.
Saturday’s card at Scioto also features a $25,000 USD Horses & Geldings Open Pace as well as the $30,000 USD final of the Jerry Knappenberger Pace mini-series and the $15,000 USD second leg of the Daryl Sherman Pace mini-series.
(With files from Ohio Harness Horsemen's Association; photo of Tom Largo winning on May 2 at Miami Valley Raceway)