by Kim French, USTA Internet News Editor

Kim French

Columbus, OH — Although he certainly feels fortunate he has eight freshman and sophomores prepared to compete on the Ohio Super Night Saturday (Sept. 3) $2 million extravaganza at Northfield Park, trainer Brian Brown does lament that the horse he feels may be the best 2-year-old in his barn is on the sidelines for this event.

“I have some really good young horses,” said the Delaware, Ohio, resident. “My 2-year-olds are probably better than my 3-year-olds, but the horse I think is the best of them all is turned out right now. His name is McRaven. He’s a McArdle (out of the Real Desire mare Scooch) and he only raced twice before he cracked a P1 bone and I had to give him time off.

“I think this is a very, very nice horse. He won in 1:53.3 in his very first start in the slop at Scioto and his second start as easy as you please first over from the nine-hole (at Northfield). When Ronnie (Wrenn Jr., his driver) brought him back he still had the ear plugs in and seemed like he never broke a sweat. We were really excited about him and it was a real kick in the pants when we heard the news, but that is the business. We do have some other young horses though that really came on and have been very pleasant surprises for us.”

Conrad photo

Brian Brown harnessed Type A Grey to her fifth consecutive victory in as many tries as she swept the fourth leg of her OSS series in 1:55.2 on Aug. 23 at Scioto Downs for driver Chris Page.

One of those horses would be the undefeated pacing filly Type A Grey. The 2-year-old daughter of Art Official-Just My Type was purchased by Bruce Trogdon’s Emerald Highlands Farm as a yearling for $20,000 at the 2015 Standardbred Horse Sale in Harrisburg. To date, the filly has amassed $97,900 from five trips to the gate.

She will begin pacing from post position two in Saturday evening’s fifth race in her $250,000 contest, retains the services of regular reinsman Chris Page and is the 2-1 morning line selection.

“Over the winter, she really did not do anything to distinguish herself,” Brown said. “But about two weeks before her first start after we trained her, we realized we might have a very good horse on our hands as she impressed us. She’s not a flashy horse and just goes about her work. Chris (Page) is a great fit for her, because he just keeps her mind on her job. Unfortunately, she tied up on us a little bit in her last race (a nose victory on Aug. 23 at Scioto Downs), but we did some work on her and think she should be much better this weekend.”

True to his nature, Brown is extremely honest when assessing the true level of Type A Grey’s ability.

“She is a very, very nice filly,” he said. “But she is not Color’s (Color’s A Virgin, 2014 Jugette champion, 2015 Breeders Crown victress). Then again, there are so very few that are. Horses like that do not come along very often during your career. This filly is not as big and strong as Color’s and we don’t have the same expectations of her, but we look forward to her having a very nice career.”

She will have to best a field of eight that also includes another Brown stable member in Bye Bye Felicia. The daughter of Woodstock-Tea Time is owned by Brown’s wife Jennifer, Dean Davis, Joyce McClelland and Steve Mullet.

Bye Bye Felicia has earned $68,639 and sports a slate of 6-3-1-1. She commences her journey from post five, will have Kayne Kauffman behind her and is the fourth choice at 5-1.

Brown’s next 2-year-old performers are Corner Con Artist (Art Official-Cornerstand), Officially Creek (Art Official Hayser Creek) and Barnabas (McArdle-Panagler) in the $250,000 colt and gelding pace final, which is the seventh race on the card.

Corner Con Artist, a Stephen Sexton homebred, drew the five hole, will be steered by Kayne Kauffman and is 20-1 on the morning line. The gelding seeks to improve his resume to 7-3-1-0 and increase his $37,656 bankroll while contending with, not only his stablemates, but five other rivals.

A homebred for Debbie Bird, Officially Creek will leave from post position six. He will be guided by Ryan Stahl and will be attempting to collect his third triumph in his sixth start. The gelding is a healthy 6-1 on the early wagering line, but enters this race off a career best 1:54 clocking on Aug. 24 over this very same oval.

Brown’s third entrant is Barnabas. He is currently rated at 3-1, the morning line choice, off his 5-4-0-0 record and $79,200 in purse money. Ronnie Wrenn Jr. will be holding the lines.

“Officially Creek has really come on,” Brown said. “He has the pedigree to be any kind of horse as he is a half-brother to Boulder Creek (Pacific Rocket, $3.42 million).

JJ Zamaiko photo

Barnabas established a new Northfield pacing standard by capturing his Aug. 24 OSS division in a front-stepping 1:53.1.

“Barnabas was a complete surprise. This horse could not pace for more than a mile down in Florida. He still looks horrible warming up and nothing like the public would ever want to put any money on, but when it’s time to race he comes out there pacing. We took the hobbles off him and let him warm up trotting. It seems to work for him and he continues to improve.”

Brown’s three sophomore pacing contestants are She Gone, Whataboy and Friskie Cruiser.

The filly She Gone starts from post eight in the ninth race and has been a very solid performer for Brown’s wife Jennifer, Beau Brown, Cameron McCown and Richard Lombardo. She has banked $69,285 from 23 career pari-mutuel attempts with seven wins.

The daughter of Feelin Friskie-Semaj Hanover is currently 25-1, but those odds certainly improve when Ronnie Wrenn Jr. is at the controls.

The last two members of the Brown stable to perform on Saturday night are male pacers Whataboy (Big Bad John-Parapanalia) and Friskie Cruiser (Feelin Friskie-Corner Cruiser), who leave from posts four and six, respectively, in their $250,000 final. Whataboy, owned by Carl Howard, Gerrie Tucker and R.B.H. Ventures, will be driven by Ronnie Wrenn Jr. and is rated at 9-5. Friskie Cruiser, last year’s runner-up in this event, will be guided by Ryan Stahl and is a Stephen Sexton homebred. His odds are 25-1.

“Both of those horses are not much to look at,” Brown said. “But Whataboy, is really some kind of horse. He’s not big and is plain, but this is a racehorse with guts and heart. He gives you more than 100 percent every time he is out there.

“It’s the same thing with Friskie Cruiser. He was second in the final last year after starting from the nine hole in what I thought was an incredible race for him. He then came right back to end the season with a win at Delaware. It has not all come together for him this year like we thought it would, but you cannot count him out anytime he is racing and he is reunited with Ryan Stahl who knows this horse really well. He does a great job with him.

“People would probably laugh at me if they asked me to bring out what I thought was the best horse in my barn and brought out one of these two horses, based on their appearances, but class is class and not something that depends on size or looks.”

Although what he feels is his most talented young horse will not have the opportunity to compete for an Ohio championship, Brown feels fortunate to have the participants he does and while he remains hopeful his horses will collect some hardware and checks, he also realizes those results will require a little luck.

“That’s why I have drivers like Ronnie, Chris, Kayne and Ryan,” he said. “To win any race you need a good trip and some of my horses definitely will race better if how the race sets up suits them. Also at Northfield, post position means everything so if you don’t draw well, how things unfold really matter. I’ll leave it up to my drivers to determine that when the gates open. They have all proven they know what they are doing and after I do my part, it is up to them and the horses.”

For complete entries for Ohio Super Night, click here.