Drivers Aaron Merriman and Brett Miller each took three divisions of Ohio State Fair action Friday (Aug. 4) at Eldorado Scioto Downs.
Merriman took two out of the three two-year-old trotting colt divisions. Royal Precedent won the first $56,500 division for two-year-old colt trotters in 1:56.1. Merriman left from the six hole and got the pocket trip for the opening quarter of :28, then looped to the lead through the :57.1 half and stayed on top with a 1:26.2 three-quarters. The Creatine gelding bested Do Whats Right (Brett Miller) by a head, with Hung Over (Chris Page) finishing third.
Owned by Claude Gendreau Stable Inc and trained by Sam Schillaci, Royal Precedent now has $89,000 in career earnings with four wins in five starts. The 1-2 favourite paid $3 to win.
The second division went to Spaaaanzano and Aaron Merriman. The duo went straight for the front just before the :28.1 opening quarter and led through :28.1 and 1:27.2 fractions. Commander Tom (Miller) came first up but couldn’t get to the leader. Spaaaanzano won by 3-3/4 lengths in 1:55.4. Smooth Talkin (Don Irvine Jr.) finished third.
Spaaaanzano is owned by Spaaaartners, Bill Manes, Leo Fleming and trainer Chris Beaver. The Coraggioso gelding now has $150,750 banked and is a perfect four-for-four. He paid $2.60 to win as the 1-5 choice.
Tennessee Tom took the third and final division in 1:57.3 with Chris Page up for Ron Burke. Parked through the first turn from the six hole, Tennessee Tom hit the quarter in :29.1 and comfortably led the rest of the mile, hitting fractions of :59.3 and 1:29.3. Pocket-sitter Rose Run Zoom (Irvine) finished 2-1/2 lengths back in second with Ok Corral (Merriman) getting up for third.
Going off as the 1-2 favourite, Tennessee Tom paid $3 to win and is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Hatfield Stables and Knox Services Inc. The Long Tom gelding now has three wins in five starts and $105,750 in seasonal earnings.
Brett Miller’s first win was in the first division of the three-year-old filly pace with Cruise Alert in 1:51. Fear of Sports (Tony Hall) left from the eight hole with Cruise Alert and Miller pulling midway through the turn to take the lead just after the :26.1 opening quarter. The duo set fractions of :55.1 and 1:22.3 with Kassagi (Sam Widger) launching a first-over bid. Dragon By The Sea (Tyler Smith) tipped three-wide going into the last turn to only be beat by half a length for the win. Kassagi held off a cavalry charge to finish third.
Cruise Alert, by Yankee Cruiser, is trained by Jeff Nisonger for Our Three Sons Stable LLC and Nisonger Stable LLC. In 10 starts, Cruise Alert has five wins and $131,150 in seasonal earnings. Going off at 4-1, the winner paid $10.40 to win.
Taking the second division was Racing For Three and Tyler Smith, also in 1:51. Smith ducked the Western Terror filly from third and got away sixth while Super Girl (Hall) took the field to a snappy :25.4 opening quarter. Hysterical (Josh Sutton) was caught wide and took over by the three-eighths but Super Girl quickly launched a bid to re-take by the :54.2 half. Racing For Three was then second over going to the 1:22 third quarter but slipped to the inside before the turn. Sam Widger took Lofty Treasure three-wide and Racing For Three slipped between her and Super Girl to win by a length. Absolute Euphoria came from the back of the pack to finish third.
Racing For Three, trained by AJ Carlo for owner/breeder C2G Stable and Carlo Racing LLC, now has $86,220 earned in 11 starts with five wins. Sent off at 12-1 odds, the winner returned $26.40 to win.
Both Merriman and Miller took a division of the three-year-old trotting filly races. Waddupgee took the first division of three-year-old trotting fillies in 1:54.4. Docs Boo Boo (Jeff Nisonger) and Chulada (Tyler Smith) played hopscotch during the opening half with fractions of :27.1 and :56.1. By the half Aaron Merriman had Waddupgee third over and after the 1:24.1 third quarter, pulled her three-wide coming out of the last turn. By the end of the mile, Waddupgee had bested Docs Boo Boo by a length and a quarter. Truly Relentless (Chris Page) rounded out the trifecta.
Waddupgee, by Triumphant Caviar, is co-owned by Steven Zeehandelar and breeder/trainer Chris Beaver. Now with four wins in 11 starts this year, she has $87,900 in seasonal earnings. Going off at 12-1, Waddupgee paid $26.20 to win.
Rose Run Yolanda (pictured above) took the second division by a length and a half in 1:53. Leaving from post six, driver Brett Miller initially got the race favourite off the car in third, but just as they got close to the opening quarter of :27.2, he pulled the daughter of Triumphant Caviar. They made the lead before the :56 half and took the field to the third quarter in 1:24.4. Rose Run Yanae challenged throughout the last turn and down the stretch, but had to settle for second. Swinging Senorita finished third.
Fresh off a second-place finish in the Del Miller at The Meadowlands, Rose Run Yolanda paid $2.80 to win. She has now finished first or second in all eight of her 2023 starts, earning $172,836. She is trained by Todd Luther and owned by Greg Luther Racing LLC.
Ohio State Fair action concludes Saturday (Aug. 5) with colts – two-year-old trotters, three-year-old pacers and three-year-old trotters. First post is 5:50 p.m. Special promotions throughout the weekend include family “state fair” type activities including a petting zoo on Friday, food trucks and bounce house.
(Scioto Downs)