Normally in a three-horse field, speed gives way to strategy, but this year’s $45,139 edition of the Ohio Breeders Championship (OBC) Aged Pace on Sunday, Sept. 14 at the Delaware County Fair was the exception.
Charlie May (Brett Miller) and Pariss Dragon (Dan Noble) engaged in a speed duel past the opening quarter in :25.2, and Charlie May cleared to the lead and tripped the next two timers in :53 and 1:20.4. Pariss Dragon made a final attempt on the last turn, but the winning seven-year-old Mcardle-Stipple Hanover gelding drew clear by three lengths to lower the stakes record to 1:49. Pariss Dragon was second, with Quick Trick (Chris Lems) completing the field.
Charlie May, who has earned $2,527,051 during his career, is conditioned by Terry Di Cicco for owner/breeder Don Tiger. He has amassed 34 wins in 104 lifetime starts. His win price was $4.40.
In the second $24,375 split of the OBC Aged Trot, Jurassic Hattie (Brett Miller) took no prisoners and crushed her five foes. She rattled off fractions of :28, :55.4, and 1:23.3 and extended her lead to eight lengths before stopping the clock in 1:52.1 to establish a new stakes record. Longshot Dont Take My Keys (Austin Hanners) and Refined (Chris Page) completed the top three. The winner returned $3.
The winning four-year-old Volstead-High Gear Sahbra mare is trained by Stacey Van Huizen for owner Jerry Welsh. She is now 15-for-36 lifetime with $782,886 in the bank.
Longshot (Chris Lems) cruised to a 1-3/4-length victory in the first division of the OBC Aged Trot. The six-year-old Long Tom-Tintern gelding went gate-to-wire, putting up :28.1, :57.2, and 1:25.4 panels and wrapping up the win in 1:54.2. Spaaaanzano (Aaron Merriman) was second, and Guido Di (Brady Brown) rounded out the triactor.
Longshot is owned by the partnership of Wayne Mast, Jr. and Callam Racing LLC. Scott Cox is the trainer of the 21-time winner in 51 lifetime starts, who now has $443,131 in the bank. The gelding returned $6.80.
Laude Da (Chris Page) made it two straight wins against Ohio-breds with her front-stepping victory in the first $100,347 Ohio Breeders Championship division for two-year-old pacing fillies. The freshman daughter of Summa Cum Laude-Real Diva was on top through :28, :58, and 1:26.4 fractions and held off Vanna By The River (Brett Miller) by three-quarters of a length for the 1:54.2 victory. Stride For Stride (Justin Irvine) was third.
Laude Da, trained by Ron Burke, is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, and Knox Services Inc. She is now two-for-five with $127,961 in earnings. Her win price was $3.
The second division was taken by Zooom Call (Noble), who broke her maiden in 1:54.2. She set the tempo through :28.3, :58.3, and 1:26.2 fractions and stretched her margin to 2-1/4 lengths in the final quarter. Ima Beach Girl (Lems) held off Rose Run Bristol (Kayne Kauffman) for place.
Zooom Call is now one-for-nine with a bankroll of $138,999 for owners Jay Mossbarger, Hutchison Harness LLC, Brent Hopper, and SCP Stable Inc. Steve Carter trains the Summa Cum Laude-Rememberthedragon lass. The filly returned $3.40 to her backers.
Downbytheseaside Fillies Sweep Buckeye Stallion Series
Daughters of Downbytheseaside won all four $27,778 divisions of the fifth leg of the Buckeye Stallion Series (BSS) for freshman filly pacers.
Odds On Dividend ($16.20) posted the fastest mile among that quartet, leading wire-to-wire in the third division and winning by seven lengths in 1:54.1 with Luke Hanners in the bike. Odds On Dividend, out of Rose Run Ultimate, is trained by Virgil Morgan Jr. for owner Odds On Racing.
Luke Hanners also drove Morgan trainee Jamie Amanda ($28.20) to a half-length victory in the fourth division in a lifetime-best 1:55. Jamie Amanda’s victory was her second in the BSS this season, joining her first-leg win in 1:56.4. The filly out of Omen Hanover is owned by Let It Ride Stables Inc., Odds On Racing, and Morgan.
Blood Queen ($4.80) won the second division in 1:55.2. The filly out of Blood Diamond, driven by Kayne Kauffman, led gate-to-wire and won by a length for trainer Ryan Miller and owners Miller Racing Stable LLC, Redracer LLC, and Melinda Hayes.
In the first split, Seaside Angel ($3.60) scored her second BSS win of the season, crossing the line in 1:55.2. The Ron Steck trainee won by a length with Noble at the lines. Steck co-owns her with Bootville Stables LLC.
Delaware also hosted four Ohio Fair Racing Conference races for freshman filly pacers on Sunday.
Shesafirewoman, a perfect five-for-five in the Ohio Sires Stakes this season, extended her winning streak to seven with a dominant victory in the $6,632 second division of Ohio Fair Racing Conference action. The Catch The Fire-Shesasmokinlady filly went all the way for Luke Hanners, posting fractions of :28.3, :58.3, and 1:28 as she cruised to an 11-length triumph in 1:54.3. Katies On Fire (Josiah Miller) was second, followed by Squaawww (Curtis Harper) in third.
Trained by Mark Winters, Shesafirewoman has hit the board in all nine starts this season with eight wins and one second and has $235,951 in earnings. She races as a homebred for Harry Horowitz.
The winners of the other divisions were Twoplustwo ($70.20) in 1:56.3, Its Nacho Turn ($5.80) in 1:55, and Ill Be Home First ($4.80) in 1:57.4.
Hershberger, Birkhold, Bresnahan Take Driving Contest Events
Ys Do It Right ($6.80) received a perfect pocket trip from Harvey Hershberger to take the leg of the Terry Holton Youth Driving Series by a length in 1:54.3. Due to a disqualification, Big Bad Whamo (Ranger Steck) was elevated to second, and No Free Lunch (Braden Addis) advanced to third. Betty Clegg trains Ys Do It Right, a seven-year-old stallion, for Jose Cervantes.
Mary Birkhold and Sp Dancinwiththestarz, another Clegg trainee, survived a four-way photo to take the final of the Spring Haven Farm Ladies Driving Series Championship by a nose in 1:55.1. Skyway Trooper (Jazmin Short) came up the inside for second, and Freds Nightmare (Leslie Joyce) was third. Kimber Clegg owns Sp Dancinwiththestarz, a four-year-old mare.
Driver Johnathan Bresnahan, representing the Maine Amateur Driving Club, won the Tim Fouts Memorial Standardbred Driving Championship. Bresnahan steered Manny to a 1:53.3 victory by three-quarters of a length. Boozer (Robert Ciavardini) was second, with Rose Run Xplosion (John Calabrese) well back in third. The winner is owned by Jessica Smith and trained by Randy Smith.
The five-day Delaware County Fair meet continues on Monday, Sept. 15 with a 19-race card starting at 1 p.m. The program includes four OBC contests and seven $20,000 USD divisions of the fifth leg of the BSS – three divisions for sophomore filly trotters and four divisions for rookies of the same sex and gait.
(Little Brown Jug & Ohio Harness Horsemen's Association)