Lebanon, OH — Sunburst, ignored by the bettors for the second week in a row, and Aintnothingucando, stepping up into the Open for the first time, both upset in their respective co-featured distaff events at Miami Valley on Thursday night (March 5).
In the ever popular high-level conditioned claimer, Sunburst, who last week upset at odds of 31-1, only coerced a little more betting action this week as she was sent off at 16-1. Leaving from post 3, Sunburst drifted off the gate and quickly settled in fourth along the rail as Victorious Farah and favorite Maddie’s Delight dueled for the lead past the quarter in :27.2. Miss Hula Dancer opened a spot for Maddie’s Delight, only to pull immediately to cover the outer flow that was fast approaching. As they passed the half in :56.2, Miss Hula Dancer put a head in front with Sunburst now sliding out third over.
As they passed the three-quarters in 1:23.4, Victorious Farah and Miss Hula Dancer continued to battle it out for the lead while Maddie’s Delite swung three-wide to nowhere, which allowed Sunburst to slide up the inside to latch on to Miss Hula Dancer. In the stretch, Miss Hula Dancer finally took the outright lead but Sunburst popped out from behind her cover to get up at the wire by a length in 1:53.1. Miss Hula Dancer finished a strong second while Golden Magic closed for third.
For Sunburst, it was her sixth lifetime win and her second in a row for trainer Jason Irwin.
In the co-featured Filly and Mare Open, Aintnothingucando took on Open foes for the first time and came out on top. Leaving from post 2 at 6-1 odds, Aintnothingucando got away third as Hey Hey Mama led the field past the opening quarter in :27.1. From there, Fearless Ginger quickly pulled from the pocket to retake the lead. Near the half in :56.1, stablemate Aintnothingucando was pulled first-over to challenge for the lead as the two Burke trainees battled down the backside. The two were just a neck apart past the three-quarters in 1:23.4 and continued to battle around the last turn with Aintnothingucando taking a short lead as they turned from home. From there on, Aintnothingucando was under a hand drive as she cruised home in 1:51.4. Hey Hey Mama finished second, while Hungry Lizzo was third.
For Aintnothingucando, it was her third in a row and 16th lifetime win in just 51 starts for trainer Ron Burke.
David Miller led all drivers with a three-win night while Luke Hanners and Cam McCown each had a double. Trainer Mike Hitchcock swept the early double with Kilauea and Duration, the latter making an impressive start to her 4-year-old campaign by winning her first two outings of the year in identical 1:51.1 efforts.
With week number nine in the books, the driver standings table remains tight with just one win separating the top two. The top five consists of David Miller (77), Chris Page (76), Brett Miller (61), Luke Hanners (57) and Jeremy Smith (45).
The training standings are also very close, with Ron Burke (38) now taking a one-win lead over Virgil Morgan Jr. (37). Heather France (27), Steve Carter (23) and Elson Miller (14) round out the top five.
Racing at Miami Valley will resume on Sunday (March 8) with a post time of 4 p.m.