by Kimberly A. Rinker, Administrator, Ohio Standardbred Development Fund

Columbus, OH — Eight $225,000 Ohio Sires Stakes Championships (OSS) featured Ohio’s top-bred 2 & 3-year-old pacing and trotting, colts and fillies, on Saturday night, Sept. 12 at Scioto Downs. An equal amount of longshots and even-money favorites gave the titanic crowd a great bank for their gambling buck.

2-Year-Old Filly Trot

Conrad photo

Count On Cami defeated Kestrel by a nose to win the OSS Championship for 2-year-old trotting fillies.

Mild longshot (13-1) Count On Kami picked the perfect time to break her maiden as she bested favorite Kestrel by a whisker in the OSS Championship for 2-year-old trotting fillies. The daughter of Full County-Joys Second Call-Call Toll Free tripped the timer in 1:58.1 for the one mile test with driver Kurt Sugg at the lines for trainer Marty Wollam.

“After she raced in the first leg, I really thought I had the best horse in this series,” Sugg noted. “But then she’s just been finishing second all summer and I kind of thought it wasn’t going to happen. Tonight, I got the perfect two-hole trip and I think Aaron’s (Merriman, driving Kestrel) horse wasn’t quite as sharp as she normally is.”

Co-owned by Wollam, Vienna, OH; David Wayne Vannatta, Mt. Vernon, OH; and Acadia Farms Inc., Canfield, OH; Count On Kami pushed her career earnings to $167,591.

“I really thought all along this filly would be good and tonight she just put it all together,” Sugg added.

“We raised this filly from a baby,” said Charlotte Vannatta, “She’s been with us since day one and we also have a half-sister to her. She’s been one special filly for us and finishing second was okay but this just takes the cake!”

Kestrel (Aaron Merriman) was second for trainer Chris Beaver, while Consolidator (Chris Page) finished third for trainer Jim Arledge, Jr.

2-Year-Old Filly Pace
Brenda Teague harnessed Miss Me Yet to her third career victory in six tries for owner and co-breeder George Teague, Jr., of Harrington, DE in the OSS 2-year-Old Filly Pace Championship. Reined to a 1:54.3 clocking by George’s son and Brenda’s nephew Montrell Teague, the daughter of I’m Gorgeous-Live Inspired-Western Hanover was co-bred by Fannin Racing, LLC.

“This filly has been very good to us,” Brenda noted. “She’s tough as nails and always gives you 100% on the track.”

An 8-1 mild longshot, Miss Me Yet held off My Tweed Heart (Ronnie Wrenn, Jr.) by nearly a length, with Big Bad Ashley (Dan Noble) gobbling up show honors. The win upped her career bank account to $171,300. She had captured two previous legs of OSS action.

2-Year-Old Colt Trot
Heavy favorite MJB Got Faith did not disappoint her owner—11-year-old Breana Casey of Connersville, IN—in the OSS test for 2-year-old trotting colts. The daughter of Trainforthefuture-Imageofasweetgirl-Striking Sahbra got a perfect steer by driver Peter Wrenn to best the hard-trying Emerald Chip (Josh Sutton) by a neck in 1:58.3. Kanthaka (Dave Palone) finished third.

Conrad photo

MJB Got Faith took the OSS test for 2-year-old trotting colts in 1:58.3.

“He’s always a strong horse finishing and tonight he really wanted to step out of there,” Wrenn noted. “He’s really wanted out of the pocket and when I finally turned him loose, he just exploded.”

Trained by Steve Carter, MJB Got Faith was bred by the Gbw Breeding Farms Inc. His owner has donated 10% of the horse’s earnings to the Brad Hanners Fund. Breana’s dad Brian, said the idea to help Hanners was all Breana’s idea.

“Breana believes in giving and in giving back to the community,” stressed her father, Brian Carsey.

The filly has now earned her young owner $192,500, having won all four legs of the OSS series, in addition to the Championship.

2-Year-Old Colt Pace
Love Tap Hanover captured the OSS 2-Year-Old Colt Pace Championship in 1:54.2 with David Miller in the sulky. The son of Big Bad John-Love Lace Mindale-Jenna’s Beach Boy used come-from-behind tactics to nab career win number three over Friskie Cruiser (Ryan Stahl) and Mr Wiggle Pants (Kayne Kauffman).

“He raced great here last week,” noted Morgan, Jr. “Of course tonight the post and the trip didn’t hurt him at all.

Virgil Morgan, Jr. conditions the freshman, who is owned by Rick Phillips, Tappan, NY; Peter Paul Venturini, Rockaway, NJ; and Mark Harder of Freehold, NJ. Bred by Hanover Shoe Farms, PA, Love Tap Hanover now has $166,357 in his career coffers.

“I drove this horse quite a bit when he was out East,” driver David Miller admitted. “I’m not surprised to see him do well in here. I always thought he’d make a nice youngster.”

For Morgan, Jr., the victory was bittersweet as his other entrant in this same division—Primo Giovanni—did not have his usual spunk after capturing all of his previous OSS tests, and finished eighth.

3-Year-Old Filly Trot
Favorite Like Old Times and driver Ronnie Wrenn, Jr., used a near wire-to-wire performance to capture the OSS 3-Year-Old Filly Championship for trotters in 1:57.2. The daughter of Chip Chip Hooray-Royal Two-Royal Troubadour grabbed the lead at the half and never looked back, drawing off by 3-1/4 lengths over rival Student Of Life (Mike Wilder), with the gutsy Dark Roast (Kurt Sugg) getting up for third.

“She’s an absolute Cadillac to drive,” Wrenn, Jr., admitted. “The rail isn’t the best spot to get away from at Scioto and there’s always a little bit of concern when you’re racing for $225,000, but she really didn’t require any urging from me at all tonight. She’s just really on her game right now.”

Bred and owned by Keith Ross of Bellefontaine, OH, Like Old Times is conditioned by Don McKirgan. This was her 14 career win and pushed her lifetime earnings to $305,117.

3-Year-Old Filly Pace
Even-money favorite Karlee Sue stepped up to the plate for trainer Al Tomlinson, capturing the OSS 3-Year-Old Filly Pace Championship in 1:54.3 with David Miller at the lines.

“She had some ovary problems that we had a tough time getting regulated,” said co-owner Tomlinson—who conditions the filly for Daniel Mitchell, Novi, MI and Dennis Stolz, Midland, MI. “But once we got those issues straightened out, she’s seemed so much more comfortable.”

Bred by Midland Acres, the daughter of Feelin Friskie-Magical Jeanie-Magical Mike utilized a two-hole trip to nail down the win, the fifth of the season and the sixth of her career. Friskie Lil Devil (Ronnie Wrenn, Jr.) made up a ton of ground to finish second, just a length behind the winner, while Sectionlinefriskie (Greg Grismore) nabbed show honors. The victory pushed Karlee Sue’s career earnings to $221,727 for her connections.

3-Year-Old Colt Trot
Favorite I Know My Chip and driver Chris Page left hard from post nine and were never headed in the OSS 3-Year-Old Colt Trot Championship, besting Really Deep Chip (Kayne Kauffman) by two lengths at the wire. The gutsy Neely’s Messenger (Mike Wilder) finished a hard-fought third.

“He’s really been getting stronger and stronger,” Page noted. “I was a little worried because it is a cold night and the front-end really wasn’t holding up, but this horse is just spectacular right now.”

The son of Deep Chip-Madeline’s Chip-Pegasus Spur posted a 1:56.3 clocking for trainer Ron Burke and owners Burke Racing Stable, Frederickstown, PA; Weaver Bruscemi, Cannonsburg, PA; and Paul Collura, Mountain Top, PA. Bred by Kimberly Dailey, I Know My Chip pushed his career earnings to $350,778. The victory—the 13th of his career—was his fourth straight in OSS competition.

2-Year-Old Colt Pace
In an exciting stretch duel, 3-1 Rock N Randall (Ronnie Wrenn, Jr.) bested rivals Nobles Finesse (Kurt Sugg) and Imtoofastforyou (Josh Sutton) in 1:55. The son of Dave Panlone-Appealing Sammi-Nobleland Sam notched career victory number nine for trainer Brian Brown and owner-breeder Stephen Sexton of Xenia, OH.

“This horse is very lazy,” said Brown. “He really doesn’t care if he wins or not and we do a lot to make the game interesting for him. For instance this week we trained him with side cheeks on, and then raced him in a different rigging. He’s a good eater but really isn’t all that interested in racing or training. Lucky for us that tonight, he seemed into racing. He’ll go to Delaware next.”

Rock N Randall upped his career earnings to $253,808 with the win, his fourth triumph of the season in 14 starts.

Coming Up: Ohio Sires Stakes action for aged trotting and pacing horses and mares continues with four $50,000 Championships on Oct. 24 at Hollywood at Dayton Raceway.