Delaware, OH — Southwind Ozzi won the first $128,000 Little Brown Jug elimination for 3-year-old male pacers in 1:50.3 Thursday (Sept. 19) at the Delaware County Fairgrounds. Air Force Hanover, Stag Party, and Shake That House finished second through fourth to also advance to the $384,000 final later in the day. Fast N First won a contentious second elim in 1:50.2 with American Mercury, Artie’s Ideal, and Semi Tough completing the list of finalists.

Southwind Ozzi won the first $128,000 Little Brown Jug elimination for 3-year-old male pacers in 1:50.3. USTA/Mark Hall photo.

In the first elimination, Southwind Ozzi, the 1-5 favorite, got away third and used a sustained first-over drive from Brian Sears to wear down pacesetter Shake That House and triumph by 2-3/4 lengths. Southwind Ozzi, who was part of a group of horses that needed to avoid an off stride De Los Cielos Deo in the first turn, grabbed the lead midway around the final turn and cruised to victory.

“Yannick (Gingras driving De Los Cielos Deo) did a good job keeping him upright and not taking up too much track when a horse makes a break like that,” Sears said. “We were all able to get around him pretty easily. I was confident with the three-hole spot and coming first up, the horse doesn’t mind it. He’s been there for us all year and he showed up again today so we’re real happy with the effort he put out.”

The win was Southwind Ozzi’s eighth in 10 races this year. The colt, a son of Somebeachsomewhere out of Southwind Solara, has earned $544,935 this season for owners Vincent Ali Jr. and Alma Iafelice.

Fast N First won a contentious second elimination in 1:50.2. USTA/Mark Hall photo.

In the second elimination, Fast N First raced three wide up the backstretch and around the final turn as he rallied from mid-pack to win by a nose over 4-5 favorite American Mercury and by a neck over Artie’s Ideal. The top-four finishers were separated by three-quarters of a length.

The race was a battle throughout, with Semi Tough and Artie’s Ideal fighting for the lead in a :25.4 opening quarter-mile. Artie’s Ideal eventually settled into second and soon American Mercury was in motion to take the top spot from Semi Tough in a :53.3 half.

“I felt like the race was definitely setting up for us,” winning driver Brett Miller said. “(Trainer Blake MacIntosh) told me to make sure you keep this horse’s attention and when I made the move up the backside, he was very strong. But going into the last turn, just being a colt, he actually kind of pulled up on me and it cost us a lot of ground. For him to still come back and win, that was strong.”

The win was the fourth in a row for Fast N First, a son of Bettor’s Delight-My Sisters A Champ, who was sent off at odds of 11-1. He has won eight of 17 races this season and earned $138,293 for owners MacIntosh, Ridgeway Racing, and Steve Heimbecker. MacIntosh won the 2018 Little Brown Jug with Courtly Choice.

“I thought he would be right there,” MacIntosh said about Fast N First. “I wasn’t sure if he could win it, but when I saw the draw, I was pretty happy with the division we came out in. He’s just been a good little colt. We’ve protected him pretty good all summer and haven’t really raced him over his head. He came out and proved today he’s a nice little colt.”