Northfield, OH – Trainer Virgil Morgan Jr. completed in the exacta in the lone $100,000 Ohio Sires Stakes fourth leg for 3-year-old filly pacers on Sunday (Aug. 10) at MGM Northfield Park. His trainees finished 1-2 as Odds On Hialeah scored the victory and Odds On Chesapeake dug in for the runner-up position.
The race was turned on its head in the first sixteenth of a mile as Skywalker Sea (Austin Hanners) and Seaside Wishes (Kayne Kauffman) both made breaks while entering the first turn. Further complicating things, favorites Rose Run Aimee (Dan Noble) and Odds On Hialeah (Brett Miller) were both rough-gaited into the first turn as well.
The early miscues enabled longshot My Hare Legend (Aaron Merriman) to gain control entering the backstretch. Rose Run Aimee, collected herself and made her way to the front during a :27 first quarter.
Pacing by the half in a dazzling :54.4, Rose Run Aimee looked comfortable on the lead, but pressure was coming in the form of Odds On Chesapeake (Luke Hanners) who began to roll first-over.
Racing into the backstretch for the final time, Odds On Hialeah was flushed out by stablemate Odds On Chesapeake. The two fillies continued to battle through the final quarter of a mile, after flying by the three-quarters in a demanding 1:23.
Turning for home, Odds On Hialeah had plenty left in the tank and drew off to win by 2-3/4 lengths in 1:52.1. Odds On Chesapeake dug in gamely to be second and The Word Is Out (Chris Page) rallied to be third.
Odds On Hialeah (Lather Up-Laughandbehappy) is owned by Let It Ride Stables, Odds On Racing, and Operation Horsepower. With the winner’s share of Sunday’s purse, the 3-year-old has now pushed her career earnings to $491,500.