Granite repeats in Miami Valley Open

Lebanon, OH – Granite (Jeremy Smith) added to his impressive career resume in the $24,000 Open Pace at Miami Valley Raceway on Saturday night (Jan. 11), topping Fan Of Terror (John DeLong) and My Hero Ron (Tyler Smith) in 1:52.1 over a damp racing surface that stood up well despite weekend long rain showers.

Granite swept to his second consecutive victory in Miami Valley’s Open Pace on Saturday night. Conrad Photo.

Jeremy Smith and Granite were content to sit fourth along the pylons while My Hero Ron parked favored Fan Of Terror around the first turn on the way to a :26.1 opening panel.  My Hero Ron then led the field through a pedestrian :30.2 second quarter as Granite commenced a grinding first-over attack shortly before the :56.3 beam.  Moving up to second during the :27 third quarter (1:23.3), Granite was still forced to challenge on the rim before finally pulling away to victory in the last 100 yards.

Owned by The Panhellenic Stable and trained by Ken Rucker, Granite has now captured 29 lifetime wins and earned $534,775.  The 7-year-old son of Real Desire paid $9.40 to win.

The Ken Rucker Stable also captured a $20,000 Open II Pace when Rose Run Uriah (Jeremy Smith) edged ahead of Beyond Delight (John DeLong) in the final strides.  Tyd The Glyde (Trace Tetrick) picked up the show dough at the end of the 1:52 mile.

A Claim To Fame series for $20,000 male claiming pacers also kicked off Saturday night, divided into four divisions racing for $20,000 purses.

Pet Shark (Trevor Smith) captured the first split in 1:52.4 for owner-trainer Perry Smith, topping Make A Statement A (Tyler Smith) and Ville Valo (Brett Miller).  The second first leg division went to Persistent Threat A (Josh Sutton) who topped Super Pac Hanover (Kayne Kauffman) and Nicol Shard N (John DeLong) in 1:54.1 at 20-1 odds. The Aussie-bred winner is co-owned by Jeffrey Koesters and trainer Phil Belanger.  Winna Winna (Jeremy Smith), owned by Brian Witt and conditioned by Larry Finn, got the nod in the third division by beating J J Tanner (Tyler Smith) and Sonofa Sizzle (Kayne Kauffman) in 1:53.  The fourth and final split went to Ponderingjacksfame (Chris Page), whose 1:53.2 clocking bested Ram N Desire (Tyler Smith) and Monte Cristo (Jeremy Smith) for owner No Recall Stable and trainer Ron Burke.

Racing resumes on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 12) with a 14-race matinee beginning at 2:05 p.m.  The southwest Ohio oval also presents matinee programs on Mondays and Tuesdays.

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