A pair of $50,000 Ohio Sires Stakes divisions for three-year-old trotting fillies will be contested this coming Monday evening (June 11) at Northfield Park, as the second of four legs of the series for Ohio-sired foals will be contested.
First-race post time will be at 6 p.m. (ET).
Leg 1 winners Red Storm and Non Smoker are set to battle in the second division (Race 5, post time 7:20 p.m.), and will be joined by Looking For Zelda, who captured a $24,455 Currier & Ives division at the Meadows in 1:54.1 on June 5.
Red Storm, a Chris Beaver trainee owned by breeder Sandra Burnett of Wilmington, OH, won her opening-leg division of the series decisively in a career-best 1:55.4 on May 4 at Miami Valley Raceway. The chestnut daughter by Stormin Normand earned $109,975 as a freshman, and has returned to her winning ways this season, as she has recorded three triumphs and a second from four starts and $65,000 in seasonal earnings. Aaron Merriman will pilot Red Storm from the rail.
Non Smoker was equally as decisive, as she posted a 1:54 clocking in her opening-leg victory. In that mile she put in a wire-to-wire performance in which she held off the hard-trying Risky Deal (also in this same division) by half a length at the wire. The daughter of My MVP, who is owned by Stephen Sexton of Xenia, OH and was bred by Stephanie Smith-Rothaug, has seasonal earnings of $37,300 and a career bankroll of $57,851 from four wins, one second and one third in 11 lifetime trips postward. Danny Noble trains and drives.
Robert Key’s Looking For Zelda is no stranger to the Ohio program, as she earned $228,675 at two for her owner/breeder during her freshman campaign. Though she was third in her opening-leg division, she rebounded smartly to take the Currier & Ives earlier this week under the watchful eye of trainer Norm Parker. From three starts this season she has two wins and $43,227 in the bank. Tony Hall steers the rugged filly.
In the first sires stakes division (Race 3, post time 6:40 p.m.) Impinktoo will have the benefit of the rail for the ownership troika of Billy Walters, Joe McLead and Rtk Racing. The filly was formerly trained by Jim & Kim Dailey, but now races for trainer Ron Burke. The Manofmanymissions filly banked $167,040 at two and most recently captured a Scioto overnight in 1:55.3 as the public’s choice on June 1. Kayne Kauffman has received the driving assignment for the Monday tilt.
(OSDF)