Ontario-bred Warrawee Ubeaut put on a world-class display Wednesday (Sept. 18) at Ohio’s Delaware County Fair, as the Ron Burke-trained and Yannick Gingras-driven charge was a dominant winner of the $155,760 Jugette final for three-year-old pacing fillies.
Burke had hemmed and hawed as to whether he should enter Warrawee Ubeaut to the Little Brown Jug or its filly companion event. Ultimately, Burke opted for the Jugette. It’s anyone’s guess as to whether she could’ve won the Jug or not, but the daughter of Sweet Lou showed what she is all about while capturing the 47th edition of the pacing classic for distaffers.
After having won her opening-heat elimination convincingly in 1:51.1, Warrawee Ubeaut drew Post 2 for the final. She had her main rival in the race – the Dexter Dunn-driven Treacherous Reign – directly to her inside to start things off.
The wings of the starting gate folded and sped away, and it was Treacherous Reign and driver Dexter Dunn that led Warrawee Ubeaut and the rest of the field into the first turn. With the engine on his mind, Gingras angled Warrawee Ubeaut out for a possible first-over bid right after the turn. Quickly reassessing the situation, Gingras opted to bring his filly back into the pocket. Warrawee Ubeaut wasn’t really having it, initially.
Warrawee Ubeaut had her mind on a power move. When Gingras didn’t step on the gas and give her the green light, the lightning-fast filly put in a few steps, which surely gave her connections a bit of a gasp. Gingras was able to get Warrawee Ubeaut back on focus and dropped her back into the pocket just as Treacherous Reign flashed the quarter pole in :26.2.
The middle half of the race ended up being a two-filly affair, as Treacherous Reign cut the half in :55.2 and spun off three quarters in 1:23.3 with Warrawee Ubeaut keeping close checks and ready to pounce.
And pounce she did.
When Gingras unleashed Warrawee Ubeaut, to be blunt, it was over. The speedy daughter of Sweet Lou ranged up alongside Treacherous Reign, hit the gas and flew to victory. Gingras and the bay opened up lengths on Treacherous Reign in the final quarter and the victory wasn’t in doubt from there.
Realizing the outcome early, Gingras raised his arm in victory as he and Warrawee Ubeaut sped through the lane to victory. At that point, the only thing in question was how fast the mile would be covered.
Warrawee Ubeaut went on to nail the wire in 1:50.1, a time which equalled the world record for a three-year-old pacing filly over a half-mile track (previously held solely by Call Me Queen Be, who recorded it in her 2016 Jugette elimination).
After having raced third through the mile, the Canadian-trained (David Menary) and driven (James MacDonald) Ideation Hanover got up on Treacherous Reign late for second.
Afterward, Gingras said that he wasn’t surprised that Dunn didn’t want to give up the lead in the first quarter.
"I wouldn't have let him go if it was the other way around,” said Gingras, adding, “it's the Jug, you want to be on the front. He was starting to grab up pretty much in the first turn and I wanted to keep the pace honest. I knew I was going to have to pull from the deuce at some point, but by making him go a little bit going to the quarter I figured I'd get to sit a little longer after that."
When Gingras ultimately pulled with Warrawee Ubeaut, the duo came calling with authority. Knowing what he had between the shafts, Gingras couldn’t have felt any better when he did decide to unleash his charge.
"I'm so confident in this filly right now,” he said, “I couldn't see any scenario where she'd lose unless I messed it up, and I wasn't planning on doing that, either."
Warrawee Ubeaut has now won nine of her 14 races this season and 16 of her 26 career starts. Courtesy of the wins, her career bankroll now sits at $1,205,305.
Warrawee Ubeaut is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC (Fredericktown, PA), Phillip Collura (Mountain Top, PA), Jandt Silva Purnel & Libb (Delray Beach, FL) and Weaver Bruscemi LLC (Canonsburg, PA). She was bred in Ontario by Warrawee Farm of Rockwood.
When asked where she will head from here, Burke indicated that Warrawee Ubeaut will now head to the Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky.
"We'll probably skip the first week, but I don't know... we'll see,” said Burke, who added, “then from there it's Breeders Crown and a couple more races after that."
When asked to assess how Warrawee Ubeaut stacks up against some of the best he’s trained, Burke basically said that the sky is the limit for the filly.
"She's probably the fastest mare we've had – she's the fastest two-year-old, regardless of sex,” said Burke. “She's obviously a very high-speed horse. Moving forward, I think she's going to be a great horse because now she's learning to do [what she did today]: get stuffed in a hole, come back out and come back again. She couldn't have done that before."
In addition to the Jugette races, the Wednesday program also featured two divisions of the Standardbred, a six-filly field for the Buckette (Race 13), and multiple divisions of the Ohio Fair Racing Conference Stakes, Buckeye Stallion Series, and Ohio Breeders Championship.
Recaps of some of the day's other stakes races appear below.
WARRAWEE UBEAUT SIZZLES; JUGETTE FINAL SET
Warrawee Ubeaut showed why her connections considered racing her against the boys in the Little Brown Jug with an under-wraps 1:51.1 victory to take the fastest of two $51,920 eliminations for the 2019 Jugette at the Delaware County Fairgrounds on Wednesday (Sept. 18).
Leaving from the rail against six rivals, Warrawee Ubeaut and driver Yannick Gingras sprinted away as the wings of the gate folded with a challenge for the lead from second choice Stonebridge Soul (Tim Tetrick). Stonebridge Soul was able to clear and make the front but that lead was short-lived as Gingras right-lined quickly and regained control through a :27.1 opening quarter. The pace slowed as the field gave Warrawee Ubeaut all the respect she deserved, reaching the half-mile point in :56.3.
The tempo picked up in the second half of the mile as the backfield started to create some outer flow, but those horses couldn't make a dent in the lead of Warrawee Ubeaut. The daughter of Sweet Lou passed three-quarters in 1:24.1 before letting out a notch turning for home to win by six lengths in 1:51.1. Stonebridge Soul stayed for second with Carbon Capture (Chris Page) finishing third. Under The Hood (Joe Bongiorno) finished fourth to also qualify for the final.
Bred in Ontario by Warrawee Farm of Rockwood, Warrawee Ubeaut (Sweet Lou - Great Memories) is trained by Ron Burke and owned by his Burke Racing Stable LLC of Fredericktown, Penn. along with Phil Collura of Mountain Top, Penn., Jandt Silva Purnel & Libby of Delray Beach, Fl. and Weaver Bruscemi LLC of Canonsburg, Penn. Harness racing's fastest freshman of all-time by virtue of her 1:48.3 mile in 2018, Warrawee Ubeaut sports a 15-3-5 summary from 25 lifetime starts with earnings in excess of $1.12 million.
Following the second Jugette elim, the draw for the Final was announced:
2019 Jugette Final ($155,760)
1 – Treacherous Reign – Dexter Dunn
2 – Warrawee Ubeaut – Yannick Gingras
3 – Ideation Hanover – James MacDonald
4 – Stonebridge Soul – Tim Tetrick
5 – Bestseller Hanover – Jason Bartlett
6 – Carbon Capture – Matt Kakaley
7 – Shes Allright – Chris Page
8 – Under The Hood – Joe Bongiorno
TREACHEROUS REIGN STRONG IN JUGETTE ELIM
The first of the Jugette’s opening-heat eliminations went postward for Race 15, and, as the public expected, the Tony Alagna-trained and Dexter Dunn-driven Treacherous Reign ($2.40) got the job done. The 2019 Fan Hanover Stakes winner went to the top early from Post 4 and went on to post a gate-to-wire win in 1:52.
The bay Captaintreacherous filly cut the speed in :26.4, :55.4 and 1:24.3. She came home in :27.2 to post a convincing victory. After having chased on the outer tier, the James MacDonald-driven Ideation Hanover finished second. Bestseller Hanover, who raced second along the pylons for Jason Bartlett, finished third. Shes Allright finished fourth and also advanced to the final for driver Chris Page.
When asked about how he felt about Treacherous Reign’s performance in her opening heat, Dunn said his filly “was doing enough” and “the way she felt was very pleasing.”
Alagna stated that he thought his pupil was in good order headed into the final, given the way she raced in her elim. “She’s always had a great recovery,” said Alagna, who went on to say that, “the way she went across the wire with the earplugs in... it all bodes well going into the final.”
Treacherous Reign is owned by Alagna Racing LLC (Manalapan, NJ), Big Als Stables (Woodbridge, ON), Let It Ride Stables Inc. (Boca Raton, FL) and Dana Parham (Boca Raton, FL).
SOPHIA LIA CAPTURES THE BUCKETTE
Sophia Lia ($9.80) took a pocket ride through the fractions and got up in the lane to win the $76,125 Buckette for three-year-old trotting fillies (Race 13). Tim Tetrick and the Chris Beaver trainee left from Post 4 before yielding the point to the Andy Miller-driven French Cafe prior to the :28 quarter pole. The pair of fillies would race ‘1-2’ through the middle half, which saw the fractions flash to life in :57 and 1:26. The Ronnie Wrenn Jr.-driven Summit City Swan had come calling first-up after the half-mile pole, but couldn’t keep up with the top two, whom led the field into the stretch. Tetrick popped out of the pocket early in the lane and went on to post a neck victory in a life’s-best 1:54.3. French Cafe held on for second and Summit City Swan crossed the line third.
Sophia Lia has now won three of her 11 seasonal starts and six of her 23 lifetime races. Sophia Lia is owned by Christopher Beaver (Radnor, OH), Donald Robinson (Cardington, OH), RBH Ventures Inc. (New York, NY) and William Rufenacht (Archbold, OH).
KEYSTONE EUREKA SOLVES FOES IN THE STANDARDBRED
After having sat off of the early tempo in Race 9, the Ryan Miller-trained and Tim Tetrick-driven Keystone Eureka ($7.40) fired home three wide in the lane to notch a 1:55 win in a $46,800 division of The Standardbred for two-year-old pacing fillies. The daughter of Somebeachsomewhere—Sir Erika Z Tam stalked from the backfield as Dance Club and driver Matt Kakaley cut the opening quarter (:27) and half (:55.3). Tetrick positioned his charge second-over early in the back half of the mile and called for an advance after the 1:24.4 three quarters. Keystone Eureka was racing three-wide from the head of the lane onward and was able to get up in deep stretch for a well-measured win. Mike Wilder fanned Coral Reef Hanover out four-wide late and came on for second. Dont Speak, who rode the pocket through the mile, popped out in the stretch and finished third. Keystone Eureka, who was a $60,000 purchase at the 2018 Harrisburg sale, is owned by Miller Racing Stable Inc., of Greenville, OH.
HANNAH A CONVINCING WINNER IN THE STANDARDBRED
The Julie Miller-trained and Andy Miller-driven Hannah ($3.80) kicked off the afternoon’s major stakes action, as the juvenile daughter of Muscle Hill—Viva Las Lindy posted a 1:56 victory in a $46,000 division of The Standardbred for two-year-old trotting fillies (Race 4). The $60,000 Lexington Selected purchase went to the top from Post 2 and diced the fractions in :28.4, :58.1 and 1:27.1. The bay kicked home in :28.4 in what was a mark-lowering performance. Skyway Tinacious finished second for driver Peter Wrenn, while Mizzy Brenda K finished third for pilot Mike Wilder. Hannah is owned by the Andy Miller Stable Inc. (Millstone Township, NJ), Dumain Haven Farm (Pine Bush, NY) and Little E LLC (New York, NY).
GUINEVERE HALL, AQUA LILLIES BEST IN OBC TWO-YEAR-OLD FILLY TROT
Guinevere Hall (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) sat back and watched Delovely Hall (Aaron Merriman) and Lights Down Low (Yannick Gingras) battle through the majority of the race and swooped past the tiring leaders to capture the first division in 1:56.4.
Lights Down Low held on for second, Cant Break Rosie (Chris Page) rallied for third and Delovely Hall completed the superfecta.
Guinevere Hall is conditioned by Melanie Wrenn for M T Pockets Stable and David McDuffee. Alan Leavitt bred the Cash Hall filly.
The $55,850 second division was greatly affected by breaking trotters. The 3-5 bettors' choice, Globetrotting (Anthony MacDonald) broke at the start, giving the lead to the 3-2 second choice, Uncle Peters Uncle (Brett Miller). Uncle Peters Uncle led the field into the final turn until she took a bad step and went off stride.
Aqua Lillies (Yannick Gingras) pounced on the opportunity and sprinted past Lima Gold (Ronnie Wrenn, Jr.) in 1:58.3.
Norm Parker trained the Break The Bank K filly for breeder-owner Robert J. Key.
RECORD MILE FROM A TC QUEENIE IN OBC AGED TROT
The $14,600 event was decided in the first sixteenth of a mile, as A TC Queenie grabbed the lead from post position five and never looked back to defeat the field of 10 in a stakes record 1:53.2.
The six-year-old Triumphant Caviar mare is owned by Trish Soulsby and Richard Schaut and trained by Ron Steck. A TC Queenie is just a few dollars short of $400,000 in career earnings. She became a three-time OBC champion with the win.
VOYAGE TO PARIS OUTLASTS PRESSURE IN OBC THREE-YEAR-OLD COLT TROT
Voyage To Paris (Dan Noble) survived a long battle with Lane Of Stone (Jeff Nisonger) through sizzling opening fractions and held of late rally from Bully Boy (Aaron Merriman) to win in a track and stakes record 1:53.2.
Voyage To Paris scored for the seventh time in 2019 for Stephen Richard and Lana Jo Pollock. Jim Pollock Jr. trains the Dontyouforgetit gelding.
New Zealand reinsman Dexter Dunn guided Homer Hall to a then stakes record victory in the opening division of the three-year-old colt trot in 1:53.4.
Homer Hall has 11 seasonal wins in 20 starts and has earned $223,667 during his career.
The Cash Hall gelding is owned by Tammy Carter, Jay Mossbarger, Cass Gallagher and Breana Carsey and is trained by Steve Carter.