Soft Shot led at every call in both her elimination and the final to win the 54th edition of the Jugette for three-year-old pacing fillies on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at Delaware County Fairgrounds after world record performances earlier in the elimination heats.
The world record elimination winners Soft Shot (1:49.3) and My Girl EJ (1:49.1) lined up one-two in the $351,351 final of the Jugette and raced that way through a :27.3 opening quarter. A battle of the top two fillies didn't pan out though as My Girl EJ broke stride in the two-hole as they turned into the stretch heading towards the half and driver Dexter Dunn was forced to pull up the 3-5 favourite.
Soft Shot and driver David Miller raced on past the half in :56.1 with A Few Choice Words (Jim Marohn Jr.) inheriting the pocket and closing the gap while Odds On Platinum (Todd McCarthy) went first-up from third down the backstretch after avoiding the early trouble that played out in front of the grandstand. But neither could catch Soft Shot as she passed three-quarters in 1:23.4 and cruised home a 2-1/2-length winner in 1:51 flat. A Few Choice Words edged out Odds On Platinum for the runner-up honours.
Miller, the all-time dash win leader at the Delaware County Fairgrounds who will be making the move back to Ohio from his current base of operations in New Jersey, noted it never gets old to win a race at the famous fair oval.
"I was getting pretty easy fractions anyways, and Dex [Dexter Dunn, driving My Girl EJ] — I don't know if he started to move or what happened exactly — I looked back, seen she made a break, and whatever horse was out there already, it took them right out, too.
"The half flashed up in :56, I let her pace a little bit up the backstretch. I heard a horse coming to her...but I called on her at the head of the lane and she had horse left."
Here for the fun, trainer Jessica Roegner and owner Paul O'Neil celebrated the biggest victory of their harness racing careers after supplementing Soft Shot to the Jugette for $15,000 USD.
The Heston Blue Chip-Aims Whisper filly, who was purchased by O'Neil at the end of her two-year-old season and had been racing in open company in Ohio most of her sophomore year, earned her 13th career win from 20 starts and boosted her bankroll over $326,000.
Roegner didn't think she necessarily had a chance to win.
"Nope, we were here for the fun," said Roegner with a laugh. "That was unexpected, but you can't win it unless you're in it, right?"
When asked about future plans for Soft Shot, and whether or not they included the next Grand Circuit stop in Lexington, Kentucky, Roegner stated with a hearty laugh, "We gotta make it through the night!"
O'Neil called this the biggest day of his career, going three-for-three with his horses by virtue of two wins from Soft Shot and a victory from Rock The Hill in Ohio Fair Racing Conference action earlier on the card.
Soft Shot paid $5.80 to win as the 9-5 second choice.
A broken hopple hanger was the reported cause of My Girl EJ's break in stride that caused interference ultimately taking her stablemate Lou Lou (Yannick Gingras) out of contention.
Field Set For 2024 Jugette
Supplemental entry Soft Shot toured the Delaware County Fair half-mile oval in world record fashion in the first $33,784 elimination for the Jugette on Wednesday, Sept. 18.
Driven by David Miller and trained by Jessica Roegner, Soft Shot equalled the 1:49.3 world record for three-year-old pacing fillies on a half-mile track, set by 2020 Jugette champion Party Girl Hill in her elimination heat and co-held by Hey Hey Mama, who matched the mark in 2023 at Northfield Park.
Leaving from the inside post, Soft Shot established the lead and had her five rivals lined up behind in post position order through an opening quarter in 27 seconds. She continued to lead through middle splits of :55 and 1:22.3 before opening up into the stretch in a career-best performance. Soft Shot paid $8.40 to win as the 3-1 second choice.
A Few Choice Words (Jim Marohn Jr.) followed 3-1/2 lengths behind in second with the 6-5 favoured supplement, Dandys Mercy (Scott Zeron), advancing first-up approaching the midway mark to ultimately hold her position while longshot Donegal Spirit (Todd McCarthy) nabbed fourth-place and a spot in the final.
Soft Shot earned her 10th win of the season in 13 starts for New York-based owner Paul O'Neil, who doled out $15,000 USD to supplement the six-figure filly to the Jugette.
"She was not eligible to anything so she has been racing against older horses [mainly at Northfield Park], which was kind of a big feat compared to a lot of the other horses," said Roegner. "She's done nothing but been phenomenal the whole year."
Bred by Shanamphilankilou Inc., Soft Shot is a daughter of Heston Blue Chip out of the Bettors Delight mare Aims Whisper.
After watching a world record performance just before her, My Girl EJ established a new world record in the second $33,784 Jugette elimination.
Dexter Dunn guided the daughter of Sweet Lou-Lucys Pearl away from the rail as Odds On Platinum (Todd McCarthy) left for position from the outside but had to settle into third behind My Girl EJ and post two starter Lou Lou (Yannick Gingras). My Girl EJ confidently cruised through fractions of :27 and :54.2 before facing a challenge from an advancing Odds On Platinum. My Girl EJ appeared comfortable as she hit the third station in 1:22.2, and Dunn looked over his shoulder around the final turn to see Odds On Platinum tuck back in for the stretch drive. My Girl EJ paced strong through the wire under no urging, tripping the timer in a sizzling 1:49.1. Odds On Platinum finished two lengths in arrears, with Lou Lou and Hunting Hula (Andy McCarthy) punching tickets to the Jugette final.
"She's an awesome filly, you know, she's had a great year, and Ronnie [Burke] told me a while ago he was aiming her here," noted Dunn after the record performance. "She's quite small, but she's nifty. And I thought she'd get around here really good, and she was doing that easy today."
My Girl EJ is owned by her breeders, Burke Racing Stable LLC of Fredericktown, Pennsylvania, Weaver Bruscemi LLC of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania and Elizabeth Novak of Boca Raton, Florida, as well as her trainer, Ron Burke. With the elim win, her lifetime summary now stands at 11-9-2 from 24 starts with $1,199,080 in earnings.
Post positions for the Jugette final are listed below with final driver changes.
1. Soft Shot - David Miller
2. My Girl EJ - Dexter Dunn
3. A Few Choice Words - Jim Marohn Jr.
4. Odds On Platinum - Todd McCarthy
5. Lou Lou - Yannick Gingras
6. Dandys Mercy - Scott Zeron
7. Donegal Spirit - Ronnie Wrenn Jr.
8. Hunting Hula - Andrew McCarthy
Watch The 2024 Jugette
The 54th edition of the $418,919 Jugette for three-year-old pacing fillies headlines Wednesday's 22-race card at the Delaware County Fair and live streaming of all the action will be available.
The $351,351 Jugette final will cap off the action-packed afternoon as Race 22, featuring the top four finishers from a pair of $33,784 elimination heats contested earlier in the day (Races 18 & 19).
Dandys Mercy, a $15,000 USD supplemental entry, is the 5-2 morning line favourite in the first elimination and the John Butenschoen trainee will leave from post three with driver Scott Zeron looking for a Jugette repeat. The other supplement, Soft Shot, has drawn the inside post in the same elimination and will be driven by David Miller for trainer Jessica Roegner.
My Girl EJ is the 7-5 favourite with the inside draw in the second elimination for driver Dexter Dunn. The millionaire filly is one of three Jugette contenders trained by Ron Burke, a record four-time winner of the Jugette. Stablemates Lou Lou (Yannick Gingras) will start to her outside and 2023 O’Brien Award winner Pass Line (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) has post four in the opening elimination.
Canadian-trained contenders include A Few Choice Words (Jim Marohn Jr.) from the Blake MacIntosh stable with post two in the first elimination and Odds On Platinum (Todd McCarthy) for Ian Moore with post six in the second elimination.
The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association will present a live stream of Wednesday’s 22-race card, which will be available below. Post time for the first race is 11 a.m.
Click here for free program pages.
The complete fields for the elimination heats are listed below in post position order.
$33,784 Jugette Elimination 1
Post - Horse - Driver - Trainer
1. Soft Shot - David Miller - Jessica Roegner
2. A Few Choice Words - Jim Marohn Jr. - Blake MacIntosh
3. Dandys Mercy - Scott Zeron - John Butenschoen
4. Pass Line - Ronnie Wrenn Jr. - Ron Burke
5. Caviart Belle - Yannick Gingras - Nancy Takter
6. Donegal Spirit - Todd McCarthy - Andrew Harris
$33,784 Jugette Elimination 2
Post - Horse - Driver - Trainer
1. My Girl EJ - Dexter Dunn - Ron Burke
2. Lou Lou - Yannick Gingras - Ron Burke
3. Blue Pacific - Corey Callahan - Scott Di Domenico
4. Hunting Hula - Andy McCarthy - Bruce Lauer
5. Leannes Choice - Scott Zeron - Erv Miller
6. Odds On Platinum - Todd McCarthy - Dr. Ian Moore
(Standardbred Canada)