by Keith Gisser, director of publicity, Northfield Park

Northfield, OH — Ohio-bred 2-year-old fillies wrapped up their preliminary action with five divisions of action at Northfield Park on Friday night, August 24. For the best, there will be more — the $1.1 million Ohio Super Night over the Home of the Flying Turns next Saturday, September 1. For the rest, there is still plenty of racing left and, of course, there is always next year.

The evening started out with a pair of favored gate-to-wire trot winners. In the first $20,200 split, Carly’s Crown ($3.40) cruised to a 1:59.3 win for Chris Page and trainer William Jarbo’s Jarbo Enterprises of Gadsden, Alabama. She’s Not Red, the second choice, loomed large, but made a break exiting the final turn, allowing My Claudette to finish second and Flawless Chip, who battled first up most of the way but tired, to inherit the show spot. Carly’s Crown, a Corleone filly, is now five of six on the year.

Norma’s Rose ($3.00) scored her fifth win in eight seasonal starts with her 2:00.2 Sires win. The Master Lavec filly was easily better than the improving Ice Fortune K and Less Stress, who was placed to third. Miller Beer distributor Jack Tramonte owns the Scott Cox-trainee, who was steered by Aaron Merriman.

There were three $20,000 heats of the fifth leg of the Ohio Sires Stakes for 2-year-old pacing fillies and when morning line favorite Cruzin Inya Jammys was scratched it threw the race wide open, but the public still got it right as favored Corner Cruiser ($3.00) was the winner and second choice Medoland Taranicol finished second. Natures Course held the show spot after leading most of the way. Corner Cruiser was rough-gaited going to the five-eighths or she might have won by ten lengths or more for trainer/driver Chip Noble and Xenia, Ohio owner Stephen Sexton. The win was the seventh in nine starts for the daughter of Yankee Cruiser.

Yankee Pankee BB rebounded in the second division. After taking the first three Sires legs, she was riding a two-race mini losing streak, but Tony Hall put the Yankee Cruiser filly on the engine and after repelling an early bid from Medoland Kendall, she was never seriously challenged. The Mickey Burke-trainee finished ahead of Shady Time Gal and Sand Feathers to re-establish herself as the favorite for next week’s $100,000 final. Yankee Pankee BB is owned by Sylvia Burke, Frank Baldachino and Weaver Bruscemi LLC.

Sires action wrapped up with Kalfas Attack winning gate-to-wire in 1:56.1, as she repelled an early challenge from Kay’s Yankee Lou and then blasted the rest of the field with a :28.1 closing panel. Winning Yankee was second and Magnificient Maui was third. Kalfas Attack, owned by Peggy and Steve Carter and Robert Reid, shows a 13-8-0-1, $29,792 summary this year. Steve Carter trains and drives the On The Attack filly.