Driver Chris Page, trainer Virgil Morgan Jr. and owner Odds On Racing captured two of the five $27,778 divisions of the Buckeye Stallion Series for two-year-old colt pacers on Friday, Aug. 22 at Eldorado Scioto Downs.
The fastest split went to Odds On Ray in 1:51.4. Captains Dance (Sam Widger) rolled to the :26.2 opening quarter while Odds On Ray stalked from the pocket. As the field headed from the :54.1 half and towards the 1:22 third quarter, Odds On Ray was full of pace but locked in. At the top of the stretch, Odds On Ray dove into the passing lane and won by a neck over a fast-closing Thunder Nation (Kurt Sugg), with Captains Dance just over a length back in third.
Odds On Ray now has two wins in five lifetime starts. Bred by Rose Run Farm, the Downbytheseaside-Stirling Delilah colt was a $189,189 Ohio Selected Yearling Sale purchase.
Morgan’s other winner was Odds On Phil in 1:53.2. Initially getting away second from the rail, Page had Odds On Phil out and moving before the :27.4 opening quarter to take the lead. Early leader Heerz Corinthian (Cam McCown) took the pocket trip as Odds On Phil fronted the field to the :57.2 half and 1:26.1 third quarter. Posting a :27.1 last quarter, Odds On Phil won by 1-1/4 lengths over Heerz Corinthian. Aint No Fire (Widger) was third.
Odds On Phil now has three wins in five lifetime starts. The colt by Lather Up out of Beach Granny was bred by Larry Miller and was a $20,270 Ohio Selected Yearling Sale purchase.
Hunka Hunka and driver Brett Miller were among the other Buckeye division winners, scoring in 1:52.3. The duo got away second while Catch My Dragon (Trevor Smith) took the field towards the :27.4 opening quarter. Odds On RPJ (Dan Noble) went first-up to pressure the leader by the :56 half, but stalled heading down the backstretch. After the 1:24 third quarter, Miller pulled Hunka Hunka out of the pocket and mid-way down the stretch had cleared to the lead. Hunka Hunka won by a length over fast-closing Heerz Ledger (McCown) with Catch My Dragon finishing third.
Hunka Hunka, by Catch The Fire out of Betterluvnexttime, was bred by LMN Bred Stables. A $16,216 Ohio Selected Yearling Sale purchase, Hunka Hunka has made six starts with four wins for owners Wayne Mast Jr., Eden Acres Farmstead, Steven Miller and trainer Daren Harvey.
The Ebony Dragon and Luke Hanners took their division in 1:53. Stoke The Fire (Chris Lems) took the field towards the :27.1 opening quarter. Odds On Sugar (Noble) was flushed out from third just at the :56.4 half. By the 1:24.2 third quarter, Stoke The Fire had put away Odds On Sugar but could not hold off the pocket-sitter, The Ebony Dragon, who came up the inside to win by a half-length. Stoke The Fire was second with Larry Legend (Miller) getting up for third.
Tyler Bates trains The Ebony Dragon for Suzanne Bates and Cedar Point Beach Racing. The Fear The Dragon-Glorious Virgin colt was a $16,216 Buckeye Classic Yearling Sale purchase from Emerald Highlands Farm. The Ebony Dragon now has eight wins in 11 starts.
Solid Rock and Brett Miller took the last division in 1:54. After leaving smartly from the gate, Solid Rock originally let Barcelona Legend (Darren Dowler) take the lead by the :28 quarter, but the fired up colt quickly took over again and led through the :57.1 half. Pressured by Odds On Mase (Tony Hall) mid-way down the backside, Miller popped the plugs and put away the contender past the 1:25.3 third quarter mark. Pocket-setter Barcelona Legend was second by 1-1/4 lengths with Nico (Tyler Smith) getting up the passing lane for third.
Solid Rock, by Pet Rock out of Awakening, is a homebred for Marjorie Polhamus. The Dan O’Mara-trained colt broke his maiden in his eighth lifetime start.
A pair of Opens were won by the Ron Burke-trained trotter Oh Look Magic (Widger) in 1:52.1 and distaff pacer A Girl That Twirls (Noble) in 1:50.1 for the Tyler George stable.
Racing continues on Saturday, Aug. 23 at Scioto with an action-packed 16-race card. The featured races include a quartet of Grade 3 $100,000 USD stakes– the Moni Maker (early closer for three-year-old trotting fillies), the Nadia Lobell (early closer for three-year-old pacing fillies), the #SendItIn Invitational for pacers and the Cleopatra Invitational for filly and mare pacers. Also on the card are 11 splits of Ohio Sires Stakes for two-year-olds. All-in-all, the Saturday card boasts purses of $1 million USD.
(With file from Scioto Downs; photo of Odds On Ray winning on Aug. 22)