A quartet of $50,000 Ohio Sires Stakes for sophomore fillies was contested Friday night, Aug. 20 at Scioto Downs.
The four-round series ended as two divisions each of pacing and trotting distaffs in leg four contests vied for a starting berth in the $300,000 Championships, set for September 5 at Northfield Park.
Securing a spot for herself was first division winner Dragons Lucky Lady, a daughter of Dragon Again conditioned by Eddie Foulk for the L&L Stables and William Hartt. Driven by Tyler Smith, Dragons Lucky Lady left the gate from post eight as the 4-1 choice and prevailed in the final yards in 1:52.2 over 54-1 longshot She Knows It All (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.), with 1-5 favourite Summer Touch (Chris Page) finishing third.
Dragons Lucky Lady was bred by Vernon mast and now has $118,272 in career earnings from 13 wins, seven seconds and two thirds in 24 lifetime starts.
Smothastenesewisky picked up her second victory in OHSS competition by capturing the second pacing division in 1:52 for driver Brett Miller. The 1-9 favourite is trained and owned by Brian Haynes of Washington Court House, Ohio, and had previous captured leg two in 1:52. Bred by Robert Mondillo and Donald Robinson, Smothastenesewisky upped her career earnings to $185,731 with this triumph, the 14th of her career in 20 starts. Leave Her Wild was second at 7-1 for Mike Wilder with 29-1 Screamin Demon third for Danny Noble.
Summer Touch, who captured the first three legs in 1:53.1, 1:52.3 and 1:51.2, stands atop the standings with 166 points, with Smothastenesewisky second with 112 points, followed by Dragons Lucky Lady with 108 points in third. The remaining fillies who qualified for the OHSS Championship are Leave Her Wild (79 points), She Knows It All (66 points), Lady Arthur (52 points), Babs Jansen (40 points) and Rainy Day Chic (38 points).
In the trotting divisions, it was Katies Lucky Day winning the first contest in 1:55.1 with driver Trevor Smith at the helm for Black Magic Racing. The daughter of Uncle Peter picked up her eighth win of the season and 14th career victory, pushing her lifetime earnings to $222,669. Katies Lucky Day, the 1-9 favourite, bested 6-1 rival Designer Specs (Ryan Stahl), with 29-1 Boujee Girl (Brett Miller) third.
Celebrate With Me (Chris Page) overtook the leading 2-5 favourite Herculisa (Brett Miller) yards before the wire to capture the second OHSS trotting event in 1:54, with 6-1 Swizzle Hanover (Mike Wilder) third. The coal black daughter by Full Count was the 5-2 choice and picked up her sixth career win and third of the season for trainer Ron Burke and owners Burke Racing, BFJ Stable, Weaver Bruscemi and Knox Services. She now has $279,132 in career earnings.
The final standings in the three-year-old filly trotting division are as follows: Celebrate With Me (154 points), Katies Lucky Day (141 points), Herculisa (137 points), Designer Specs (40 points), Swizzle Hanover (36 points), Osma (32 points), Merry Ann (28 points) and Boujee Girl (13 points).
Ohio Sires Stakes continue Saturday night, August 21 at Scioto Downs with three $40,000 divisions for two-year-old trotting colts, two $50,000 divisions for two-year-old pacing colts and two $50,000 divisions for three-year-old pacing colts. Sunday night, August 22, the action shifts to Northfield Park where there $40,000 divisions for two-year-old filly trotters will be contested and two $40,000 divisions for two-year-old filly pacers will go postward.
(With files from OSDF)