Sadbirdstillsing took flight up the backstretch to defeat the favourite in the $108,108 Buckette for three-year-old trotting fillies during the Jugette undercard on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at Delaware County Fairgrounds.
Sadbirdstillsing and driver Todd McCarthy used a backstretch, three-wide move and swept past Nymeria (Matt Kakaley) and HL Omaya (Harry Landy) to score a career-best 1:54 victory. Nymeria held on for second and Pizza Bianca (Andy Miller) rounded out the trifecta.
The Chapter Seven-Fade Into You filly is trained by Tony Alagna for Crawford Farms Racing and Pryde Stables. With her fourth career win, Sadbirdstillsing increased her bankroll to $457,946.
Odds On Hialeah and Dexter Dunn used a perfect pocket trip and sprinted past popular pacesetter Papi Grad (Brett Miller) by three-quarters of a length in the first $37,162 division of the Standardbred Stakes for two-year-old filly pacers. The final time of 1:51.4 established a new stakes record and was just two-fifths of a second off the world record for the division and track size.
The homebred daughter of Lather Up-Laughandbehappy is owned by Odds On Racing and Let It Ride Stable. She won for the fifth time in six career starts.
In the second $37,162 division, Odds On Chesapeake and Dunn came from off the pace to collar the pacesetting Blessed Hanover (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) by a length in a lifetime best 1:52.4.
The daughter of Downbytheseaside-Macaroon won for the third time in eight outings for Odds On Racing.
Virgil Morgan Jr. trained both winners.
Nikki Strikes, driven by the day's Jugette winning reinsman David Miller, established a new stakes record of 1:55 in a $35,811 division of the Standardbred Stakes for freshman filly trotters. The tempo-setting Country Victory (Scott Zeron) was three-quarters of a length back in second and Blueberry (Todd McCarthy) rounded out the trifecta. The Father Patrick-Tala Seelster filly, who is now three-for-eight, is owned and trained by Burlin Brower.
Can It Be Magic received a patient drive by Mike Wilder and scored a 1:57.4 victory by three-quarters of a length over Payback Moni (Brady Brown) in the other $35,811 division. Dan Altmeyer trains the Cantab Hall-Blonde Magic filly, who earned her second win in seven starts, for Ruth Altmeyer, June & Thomas Durand and Heather Wilder.
Dream Something, with Tyler Smith in the sulky, continued her recent streak of winning every-other start when she crossed the line a half-length ahead of Mega Money (Aaron Merriman) in a $89,865 division of the Ohio Breeders Championship for two-year-old filly trotters. Mocha Hill (Chris Page) finished third, but was off stride. Travel Nurse (Brett Miller) was promoted to third and Mia Sangria (Dan Noble) was elevated to fourth. The 1:56.3 winner is trained by Miles Wollam, who also co-owns with Julie Ann and Dale Sweet. A daughter of Uncle Peter out of Travelin Dream, she was bred by Johanna Beaver, Michael Carter and Mary McLaughlin. Dream Something improved her record to four-for-seven.
In the second $89,865 division, trainer Virgil Morgan Jr. continued his hot day by scoring an upset win with 11-1 shot Aunt Laura in 1:58. Driven by Brett Miller, the Uncle Peter-Tori Ann filly took a new lifetime mark for owner/breeder Joyce McClelland. Up (Chris Lems) was less than a length back in second and Triump Over You (Trevor Smith) was third.
Another star from the Morgan stable, Refined defeated six opponents in rein to Dan Noble and took the $45,405 Ohio Breeders Championship for older trotters by two lengths over a pocket-sitting Caviar Gold (Aaron Merriman) and My Pal Sparky (Cameron McCown). The final time of 1:53.2 equalled the stakes record. The eight-year-old Uncle Peter-Reinvent mare is owned by the partnership of Joyce McClelland and Larry Wills, She was bred by Walnut Hall Stock Farm.
(With files from Little Brown Jug)