Conditioner Chris Beaver is living every trainer’s dream.
The 45-year-old Radnor, Ohio resident did nothing less than harness both winners of Monday night’s Ohio Sires Stakes contests for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings at Northfield Park, which included one setting a track record and another finishing in the runner-up slot to his stablemate.
“It’s pretty special having three horses of this calibre in the sires stakes,” Beaver admitted. “Especially so in that all three of them are out of my stallion Triumphant Caviar. Buckeye Boss is the best of them, but really all three are basically within a second of each other, speed-wise.”
Buckeye Boss captured the first $40,000 OSS event in a new track record clocking of 1:55.3 for driver Ronnie Wrenn, Jr. That time eclipsed the old record of 1:56.4 set by Hand Glider and driver Duke Sugg in 2002. Buckeye Boss also holds the Northfield Park for two-year-old colt trotters of 1:56.3, which he set last season.
“Buckeye Boss trained fantastic all winter, but once he came back up here he sored up pretty good in his knees,” Beaver offered. “We really have concentrated on those issues to get the colt as sound as possible. One thing I did was to change his front shoes to flip flops and that’s really seemed to help.”
Owned in partnership by Beaver, breeder Marion Beachy and Synerco Ventures, 9-2 Buckeye Boss held off his stablemate, 1-2 Fraser Ridge (Chris Page) by a neck, with 4-1 Rose Run Spanky (Josh Sutton) third, nearly nine lengths behind the two Beaver-trainees.
Buckeye Boss earned $137,335 as a freshman, winning all four OSS legs; the $37,547 Ohio Breeders Championship at Delaware in 1:56.2; and was a smart second in 1:55.3 in the $55,250 Bluegrass Stakes at Lexington’s Red Mile. His career earnings now stand at $160,535 from eight wins and one second in 12 lifetime starts.
The good-looking, well-built sophomore is the fourth of six foals out of the Tom Ridge mare Fannies Ridge and is a half-brother to Dunvegan Don (1:55.2 - $160,954) and Kate Smith (1:55.2 - $107,298) —both by the stallion Cornaro Dasolo.
Beaver then tightened the girth on Always A Good Time, the 3-2 favourite, who gave driver Chris Page a wire-to-wire effort timed in 1:55.4—just a tick off his stablemate’s track record effort a few races earlier. The bay colt trotted his final panel in :28.4, finishing six lengths ahead of 17-1 Hope Ima Victory (Dan Noble), with 25-1 Jailhouse Sam (Sandy Beatty) 10-1/4 lengths back.
Always A Good Time was second in the $250,000 OSS Championship last fall to Rose Run Spanky after winning two OSS legs for two-year-old trotting colts. As the second of three foals out of the unraced Yankee Glide mare Smarty Mouth, the bay colt is a half-brother to the Donato Hanover mare Coherent (2:02.4 - $10,118).
Owned by Beaver, James Gallagher, Mark Schwartz and Steve Zeehandelar, Always A Good Time has $172,879 in his career coffers from four wins, three seconds and three thirds in 13 trips postward. He was bred by John Carver.
Ohio Sires Stakes continue Friday, July 14 with three-year-old trotting fillies at Scioto Downs in Leg 3 of the series.
(OSDF)