Grove City, OH – Just one horse — Time Has Come — is a repeat winner through two legs of the Buckeye Stallion Series for 3-year-old male trotters. With Time Has Come racing in the Ohio Sires Stakes on Saturday (June 13), that leaves eight others vying for their second BSS victories of the season on Monday (June 15) at Northfield Park Racino.
Four $20,000 divisions of the third leg of the BSS for sophomore colt and gelding trotters are on tap in Monday’s 16-race card at Northfield starting at 6 p.m. The second and fourth divisions stand out, as those fields each feature three winners from previous legs.
The fourth division is headlined by first-leg winner Eckert Hill Brady (driver Sam Widger) and second-leg winners Lane Holding Court (Dan Noble) and Mile Range (Brett Miller). Eckert Hill Brady is the 5-2 morning-line favorite and will leave from post 5.
Eckert Hill Brady, the runner-up to Time Has Come in the second leg on June 6 at Northfield, won his first-leg race on May 9 at Eldorado Scioto Downs in a lifetime mark of 1:56.3. Trainer Rosy Weaver, who co-owns the In Range gelding with Roger Huston and Barbara Wilson, credited groom Katie Hershberger and Widger for their contributions to that performance.
“As a trainer, you can do all the right things, but you also have to have a driver and a groom that do their part and listen to you and treat the horse right,” Weaver said. “Katie does an amazing job and has helped that horse get to where he’s at, and I have Sam Widger driving my horses this year, and his experience makes a big difference. I told Sam how Brady is, and he listened perfectly and ended up winning the race. He gets along great with that horse and has a lot to do with him having a successful season.”
Knowing Eckert Hill Brady’s demeanor is important, Weaver said, adding that she has had to manage him carefully since he was really tricky to train and pouty as a 2-year-old.
“I didn’t let anybody else train him at all because I could tell he had a really fine line of doing his work in sort of a willing manner versus one little wrong day could’ve probably shifted his entire season,” she said. “He is a nice horse, but if he would’ve drawn bad or gotten a rough trip, that’s all it would’ve taken for him to give it 50% instead of 90% and maybe ruin the rest of his year.”
Weaver passed that knowledge on to her drivers, and Eckert Hill Brady went on to have a successful freshman campaign with a 9-3-2 record and earnings of $68,289 in 16 starts. He was a perfect 9-for-9 in Ohio county fair races and qualified for both the BSS final and Ohio Fairs Championship. However, Weaver questioned his lack of success at Northfield, where he was winless in three purse starts with three different drivers. So, she took it upon herself to qualify him there earlier this year.
“I took him to Northfield myself and qualified him because I wanted to see what he’s doing so I could explain it when somebody else drives him,” she said. “It didn’t take me long to recognize what was happening — these guys were letting him go up to the gate too quick, and he’d throw his head and throw a fit and run.”
In the second leg of the BSS, Widger became Eckert Hill Brady’s fourth different driver at Northfield in what resulted in a second-place finish. The horse enters Monday’s race coming off a win with Braiden Rhoades at the Paulding County Fair in 2:01.1, breaking the prior track record for sophomore colt trotters of 2:02.4.
“Braiden did exactly as I told him and had patience and drove really nice,” Weaver said. “When he came off the track, he said, ‘I almost lost him, but because you told me what he does, I was prepared.’ That’s where the teamwork comes in — we all have to work together to make it look good.”
Eckert Hill Brady has two wins and two seconds in five starts this year, and his mark of 1:56.3 shattered his best time as a 2-year-old of 2:01.2. Weaver credits the improvement to how the horse has been managed.
“If I didn’t manage him properly, he would’ve never been anywhere near where he ended up,” she said. “Because I managed him last year and he had that confidence, I think that led into this year with him having more confidence and becoming a better horse, and his attitude is a little more mature this year too.”
He’ll be tested against the likes of Lane Holding Court and Mile Range on Monday. Lane Holding Court is the 3-1 second choice and will leave from post 7. The Lane Of Stone gelding has two wins in seven starts this year. Trained by Mark Winters, he recorded his lifetime mark of 1:55.4 in his second-leg BSS win. At 4-1, Mile Range is the co-third choice on the morning line with Smoking Anson. They will leave from post 6 and 1, respectively.
Mile Range is an In Range gelding trained by Steve Carter. He recorded his lifetime mark of 1:55.3 in the second leg of the BSS and is coming off a freshman campaign that saw him post a 6-3-3 record in 15 starts. Smoking Anson, a Mister Anson gelding trained by driver Edward Miller, is making his second seasonal start following a seven-win freshman season.
Despite Eckert Hill Brady being in a talented field, Weaver likes his chances of getting that elusive first win at Northfield.
“Sam and Brady seem to be a good team,” she said. “There are a lot of nice horses in that race, but Brady is a nice horse as well, so I feel like we have a shot to continue our success.”
In the second division, Deer In Range (Chris Page) is the 9-5 morning-line favorite and will leave from post 5 alongside 5-2 second choice Bitcoin King (Noble) in post 4. Trained by Allen Miller, the In Range gelding has six wins in seven seasonal starts after not racing as a freshman. He recorded a lifetime mark of 1:55.3 in the second leg of the BSS. Bitcoin King, a winner in the first leg in a lifetime-best 1:55.4, has two career victories. The Uncle Peter gelding is trained by Chris Beaver. The third prior BSS winner in this division, Mister Moolah (Trevor Smith), is 7-2. The Ready For Moni gelding has hit the board in three of four seasonal starts with two wins. He is trained by Danny Collins.
First Division
Ready For Pictures (Chris Lems) is the 3-1 morning-line favorite and will leave from post 2. Trained by Tabatha DeLong, the Ready For Moni gelding has two wins and two thirds in four seasonal starts. At 7-2, Dublins Striker (B. Miller) and Ready For Sunshine (Luke Hanners) opened as co-second choice and will leave from post 1 and 6, respectively. Dublins Striker is a What The Hill gelding trained by Herman Hagerman. Ready For Sunshine, a winner in the first leg of the BSS in 1:57.2, is a Ready For Moni gelding trained by Deborah Swartz. Royal Enterprise (Page), who took a first-leg victory in 1:55.4, will leave from post 7 for trainer Norm Parker.
Third Division
Max The Mighty (Page) is the 6-5 morning-line favorite and will leave from the rail. Trained by Beaver, the What The Hill gelding has hit the board in three of seven seasonal starts with one win. Jogging Diamond (Kurt Sugg) and Moon Time Moni (Lems) opened as the co-second choice at 7-2 and will leave from post 2 and 3, respectively. Jogging Diamond is trained by Miles Wollam, and Moon Time Moni is a Scott Cox trainee.