Grove City, OH — Ready Russell has had an impressive start to his racing career.
“He has so much talent it’s pathetic,” said Russell Swartz, who has 1,999 driving wins to his credit and assists his wife, Deborah, in the training of Ready Russell. “He’s happy all the time and loves his job.”
Outside of a rough showing in the Ohio State Fair Stakes, he’s done nothing but win, scoring five victories in six seasonal starts. With a victory in each of the first four legs of the Ohio Sires Stakes on his resume, the Ready For Moni gelding has proven to be a top contender among freshman colt trotters.
“Everything has just kind of fallen into place,” Swartz said. “He’s been an incredible horse for us. He acts older than what he is — he’s really level-headed and doesn’t let too many things excite him.”
Looking to complete a perfect run through the five legs of the OSS, Ready Russell heads to Eldorado Scioto Downs on Monday (Sept. 1) to race in one of two $65,000 divisions of the fifth leg for freshman colt trotters as part of a 16-race card starting at 5:45 p.m. He recorded a lifetime-best 1:54.3 in his fourth-leg victory at Scioto on Aug. 23, giving him strong positive momentum going into Monday’s race. Swartz said the gelding trained well on Thursday and seemed really happy on Friday.
“He has his head out of the front of the stall and is looking out the door. His ears are up, and his eyes are bright,” he said. “I feel good about Monday.”
Ready Russell opened his run through the OSS with a win in the first leg at Scioto in 1:55. He won in 1:56.4 and 1:56.2 in the second and third legs, respectively, both of which were held at MGM Northfield Park. Dan Noble has been in the sulky for all four OSS victories thus far and has been picked to drive again in the fifth leg. Swartz appreciates how Noble teaches colts how to race, and those lessons have paid off thus far with Ready Russell.
“Danny can make a horse go, but he has kind of a quiet hand to him, and I’ve always liked that,” Swartz said. “All summer, I’ve tried to keep the throttle out of his hand a little bit so we would have something left at the end, and that has worked to this point.”
Based on Noble’s feedback, Ready Russell has been a pleasure to drive.
“Danny says he can’t believe how professional he is,” Swartz said. “You don’t have to chase him with the whip. All you have to do is talk to him, and he’ll respond to your voice.”
Off the track, the winning formula also includes owners Jeff Fought Racing, Brian Carsey, and David Fought.
“I can’t say enough good things about the owners — they are some of the best owners I’ve ever been around,” Swartz said.
Ready Russell has already amassed $108,800 in earnings and continues to grow his fan base with each successive victory.
“Last week after he won, when we were walking him by people, they were looking at him like ‘Wow!’ and giving us thumbs up and hugs and smiles,” Swartz said. “It just makes you feel good. It makes you feel like what you’re doing is worth doing.”
Ready Russell opened as the even-money morning line favorite in the first division of Monday’s OSS and will be competing against the likes of Ur Ride Is Here (Brady Brown) and Bitcoin King (Tyler Smith), each of whom has one OSS win this season. Ur Ride Is Here posted a victory in the first leg in 1:59, while Bitcoin King came out on top in the third leg in 1:58.2. Bitcoin King has hit the board in all four legs thus far, finishing second in the fourth leg and third in the first and second legs. The Chris Beaver-trained Bitcoin King is the 3-1 second choice, while Steve Schoeffel trainee Ur Ride Is Here opened with 12-1 odds.
Ready Russell will leave from post seven in Monday’s eight-horse field. While that may be less than ideal, he won from posts six and seven in the prior two OSS legs held at Scioto. Swartz likes his chances of coming out on top but knows youth can lead to some unpredictable outcomes.
“He’s an incredible colt — I can’t say enough good things about him. But at the same time, everybody has to remember that he’s just a 2-year-old, and 2-year-olds make mistakes,” he said. “Maybe no one needs to know that more than me because I’ve come to expect the best out of him.”
Those expectations are borne out of the success Ready Russell has achieved as a consistent winner, earning high praise from Swartz in what is still the early stages of his racing career.
“It would mean the absolute world to my wife and me to win the fifth leg. We have 20-some horses, and we work really hard at it, and it’s just nice to have one that pays off,” Swartz said. “But even if he didn’t do another thing, I would still say he’s the best trotting colt I’ve ever trained in my life, by far. I’ve had some nice horses, but this one is incredible.”
In Other Action…
Two-time OSS winners Big Ranger (Ronnie Gillespie) and Special Moni (Smith) highlight the second division of colt trotters. Special Moni enters Monday in second place in the OSS standings with 116 points, trailing Ready Russell with 204 points. Trained by Beaver, he posted a win in the second leg in 1:58.3 and the third leg in 1:56.4 and will leave from the far outside. The Gillespie-trained Big Ranger has won all four of his starts this season. The winner of this year’s Next Generation for colt trotters in 1:54, he posted victories in the first leg of the OSS in 1:54.4 and fourth leg in 1:55.1. Fourth-leg winner Rose Run Boom (Noble) and first-leg winner Rose Run Banker (Chris Page) are also in this division. Big Ranger is the early even-money favorite ahead of 3-1 second choice Rose Run Boom. Special Moni opened with 6-1 odds, while Rose Run Banker is 7-1 on the morning line.
Monday’s 16-race card also includes three $50,000 divisions in the fifth leg of the OSS for freshman filly trotters. Three-time OSS winner Demonic Niko highlights the field of entrants along with two-time winners Speedbewithyou and Lucky Lady Volo. Demonic Niko sits atop the standings with 179 points followed by Lucky Lady Volo with 141 and Speedbewithyou with 134.
Demonic Niko (Noble) opened as the even-money favorite in the second division and will leave from the far outside. Trained by Erv Miller, the In Range filly has hit the board in all seven seasonal starts with five wins and two seconds. She posted a lifetime-best 1:55.4 in the opening leg of the OSS and recorded wins in the second leg in 1:57.1 and third leg in 1:56.2 before finishing as a runner-up in the fourth leg. Ron Burke trainee Sarah’s Mission is the 7-2 second choice.
Joyofmylife As (Noble) is the early 8-5 favorite in the first division and will leave from post three alongside 2-1 second choice Speedbewithyou (Austin Hanners) in post two. Joyofmylife As has won all four of her starts this season with three Buckeye Stallion Series victories and one in the fourth leg of the OSS in 1:56.1. The Guardian Angel As filly is trained by Anette Lorentzon and owns a lifetime best of 1:55.1. Todd Luther trainee Speedbewithyou has hit the board in five of six starts this season with three wins, including victories in the first leg of the OSS in 1:55.1 and fourth leg in 1:55.4. She was the runner-up to Demonic Niko in the second leg. The Vernon Beachy-trained Rose Run Brooke (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.), who recorded a win in the third leg in 1:58.1, is also in this division and opened with 9-2 odds.
Setyoursightshigh (Dexter Dunn) is the even-money morning line favorite in the third division. Trained by Marcus Melander, the In Range filly has hit the board in all six seasonal starts with five wins and one second and owns a lifetime best of 1:53.1. She posted an OSS victory in the fourth leg in 1:55.3 and has $240,000 in earnings. Nancy Takter trainee Godusa (Brett Miller) is the 7-2 second choice. A winner in the first leg in 1:53.3, she has two victories and one third in five seasonal starts. The Erv Miller-trained Lucky Lady Volo (Noble), who recorded OSS victories in the first leg in 1:56.2 and second leg in 1:57.3 before posting runner-up finishes in the third and fourth legs, opened with 6-1 odds.