Northfield, OH — A quartet of $40,000 Ohio Sires Stakes (OSS) for 2-year-old trotting youngsters fired up the Northfield Park crowd on a lovely cool and mildly breezy Friday evening (July 12). The winners were Expect The Sweep, Exhibit Class, It’s Academic and Big Box Hanover.

Expect The Sweep broke his maiden in Ohio Sire Stakes action at Northfield Park on Friday evening. Zamaiko Photography.

Expect The Sweep, the 5-2 choice, took the first OSS division with a 1:57.2 front-stepping performance with Aaron Merriman steering the brown gelding. Owned by Beaver, Fleming, Yoder and Zeehandelar, the son of Triumphant Caviar was making just his second lifetime pari-mutuel start under the tutelage of trainer Chris Beaver.

Expect The Sweep had finished a handy third in the first leg of OSS and finished a length ahead of 6-5 Count On Barney (Kurt Sugg), with 18-1 Action Uncle (Brett Miller) nailing down third-place honors in this second leg.

Expect The Sweep upped his career earnings to $24,800 with this first career triumph. He is the son of the Lockkeeper mare Locksweeper ($105,247).

Merriman, North America’s leading reinsman, was back in the winner’s circle for the second OSS contest, this time with another Triumphant Caviar freshman, the 3-5 favorite Exhibit Class. The bay homebred gelding trotted to a 1:58.1 clocking via come-from-behind tactics for trainer Sean Smithpeters and owner Marion Beachy. Exhibit Class had finished second in the first leg of the OSS series behind Wading Boots, and now has $30,000 in career earnings.

Attache’ was second for Ronnie Wrenn Jr., just a length behind the winner at odds of 3-1, while 6-1 Larochelle Hanover was third for driver Hunter Myers. Exhibit Class is the third and most prolific foal out of the Classic Photo mare Classic Blaze.

Even-money favorite It’s Academic benefited from a perfect steer by driver Chris Page to capture the third OSS division easily in 1:57.3. The Ron Burke-trained son of Uncle Peter had won his first OSS leg on July 4 at Eldorado Scioto Downs and had no problem scoring his third consecutive lifetime victory in as many tries for owners Burke Racing, Bill Donovan, Joe Sbrocco and the Hatfield Stables.

It’s Academic finished 1-1/4 lengths in front of the 2-1 hard-trying Doubleyellowline (Brett Miller), while 35-1 longshot Pete Stamas did well to finish third for Kayne Kauffman. The winner now sports a hefty bankroll of $43,400 for his connections. Bred by Gbw Breeding Farms, It’s Academic is the first foal out of the Muscle Hill mare Annapolis.

Another Uncle Peter youngster, the 9-5 Big Box Hanover, also made his second trip to the winner’s circle in OSS competition, having won leg one at Scioto Downs on July 4 in 1:57.4. For the second leg, the Dalton Walls-trained gelding was clocked in 1:59, finishing half a length in front of 19-1 Howyadoingub (Brett Miller) with 50-1 Greek Legend (Kayne Kauffman) notching third-place money.

Big Box Hanover is owned by Bruce Soulsby and Dalton Walls and was bred by Hanover Shoe Farms. He is the ninth foal out of the Donerail mare Box of Dreams and is a half-brother to Boadicea Hanover (by Andover Hall) 2, 2:01.4f ($113,287).