by Kimberly Rinker, Administrator, Ohio Standardbred Development Fund

Columbus, OH — Seven $40,000 divisions of 3-year-old fillies vie in the first leg of the 2017 Ohio Sires Stakes on Monday afternoon (May 1) at Miami Valley Raceway. Post time is 2:05 p.m. (EDT).

Four divisions (races four, eight, 10 and 12) of pacing fillies and three contests (races two, six and nine) for trotting fillies will be held on the matinee card, featuring returning OSS 2016 champions Let’s Get Started and Berazzled — both hailing from the Danny Collins Stable.

Collins — who trains a stable of 15 — is headquartered at Scioto Downs. A 59-year-old West Virginia native, Collins has conditioned 350 winners to $5,219,929 in career earnings.

“Both fillies came into our barn around the tenth of April,” Collins explained. “Let’s Get Started had been trained down to 2:05 in Indiana and Berazzled had already qualified in 1:58.4 in Canada.”

Conrad photo

Let’s Get Started was the 2016 Ohio Horse of the Year.

Let’s Get Started, the 2016 Ohio Horse of the Year, leaves from post four in race six with Josh Sutton aboard in her sophomore debut. A winner of $243,910 for owner-breeder Joyce McClelland of Zanesville, Ohio, the daughter of Dejarmbro-Tori Ann was nearly unstoppable during her freshman campaign, racking up six wins in seven starts.

She won three OSS legs and the $250,000 championship at Northfield Park, despite making an uncharacteristic break midway through the race before recovering to win by a head in 1:57. Her freshman mark of 1:56.3 came in an OSS event on July 19 at Scioto Downs.

Berazzled, a daughter of Charley Barley, out of the Cam’s Card Shark mare Razmataz Hanover, earned $196,265 during her 2-year-old season. Owned by Marion Beachy of Sugarcreek, Ohio and bred by Lisa Ezzo, Berazzled won four of eight starts last year, including two OSS legs and the $250,000 championship at Northfield on Sept. 3. She paced to a freshman record of 1:53.3 in an OSS leg on Aug. 23 at Scioto with regular pilot Peter Wrenn in the sulky.

Berazzled makes her seasonal debut with Wrenn driving from post seven in race 10.

Both fillies qualified for Collins on April 19 and again on April 26 at Miami Valley, with Let’s Get Started putting in a 1:57.3 winning effort and Berazzled pacing in 1:54 in their last tries.

“We’ve been making small adjustments in regards to equipment and shoeing over the past few weeks,” Collins noted. “Just tweaking little things here and there on them.”

Collins said he’s “thrilled” to have both 3-year-olds in his care, but like a lot of fillies, they have their quirks.

“Both fillies can be tough to hook, especially Let’s Get Started,” he said. “She’s got a little ‘prance and dance’ to her and is antsy heading to the track. It takes her a couple of laps to get settled down. In the barn, however, she’s very laid back and easy to work with.

JJ Zamaiko photo

Berazzled earned $196,265 during her 2-year-old season.

“Berazzled is kind of the same way, except that she’s pretty hyper in the barn too,” Collins added. “But I was really happy with her qualifier on the 29th. She was much more controllable and paced right through the wire very strong. In fact, both fillies finished with a lot left in their tanks, and with their ear plugs in place.”

During her training sessions, Let’s Get Started was hanging on one line, and upon examining her mouth, Collins discovered the filly had a broken wolf tooth. Like any attentive parent, Collins made sure she saw the dentist, and the filly responded with a better mindset and gait.

“Since she saw the dentist, she’s been a lot better,” Collins related. “That wolf tooth was really bothering her. Her attitude is much better now and she’s a lot straighter too.”

Let’s Get Started wears only a headpole and murphy blind on the left and a pair of trotting boots behind. Both fillies are shod with full swedges all the way around.

“I’m not a big fan of head poles, a lot of extra equipment or fancy shoeing,” Collins stressed. “And I like to have my horses as simply shod as possible.

“I would have liked to have had both fillies in the barn for an extra month, but off their last qualifiers, I’m pretty happy with the way both of them are set up going into Monday’s races.”

Ohio Sires Stakes continue on Tuesday (May 2) at Miami Valley, with contests for 3-year-old pacing and trotting colts and geldings.