Northfield, OH – Melillo got his signature event win at Northfield Park on Saturday (Aug. 15) night, capturing the $300,000 Carl Milstein Memorial in 1:50.4.
Ronnie Wrenn Jr. and Melillo were intent on leaving for position, but Myboypank (Marvin Luna) and Fire Run (Atlee Bender) both blasted off the gate, forcing Wrenn to take back and let the dust settle. Myboypank and Fire Run battled through an opening quarter in 26.4 before Wrenn was able to drive on to the front.
Just past the quarter, Wrenn reached the lead but quickly released barn mate Aces and Cinches, and settling into the pocket. Aces and Cinches reached the half in 54.3 maintaining control through three-quarters in 1:22.0.
Turning for home with open road in the passing lane, Melillo exploded through and powered home to secure his signature stakes victory.
Redland Rocketman and Brett Miller closed strongly after making a bold four-wide move on the far turn to finish second, while Fire Run came on for third.
The victory was particularly meaningful for Melillo as he is named after co-owner Jason Melillo.
“He’s peaking at the right time and there’s a lot of big races coming up,” Wrenn said. “When he got into the passing lane he exploded.”
Wrenn also believes Melillo has taken an important step forward mentally.
“He’s figuring it out and knows how to win now,” he said.
After coming so close in the Adios, Melillo delivered at 1-5 odds, earning his biggest victory to date in the $300,000 Carl Milstein Memorial.
Jurassic Hattie was placed as the winner of the Tom Aldrich Memorial Trot for Ohio-sired aged trotters. From her rail start she was the first one to the lead in 26:4 before yielding to Legacy Affair and Ronnie Wrenn Jr. There wasn’t much of a breather for Legacy Affair getting down to the half in 55:0. On the final turn, Jurassic Hattie popped to the outside off her ideal trip and couldn’t get to Legacy Affair in the final stages as she crossed the wire a neck behind. However, the excitement quickly turned to anxious moments as the judges posted the inquiry sign. After reviewing the stretch action, the judges determined that Legacy Affair had gone inside two pylons at the top of the stretch and placed her second, elevating Jurassic Hattie to the winner’s circle in 1:53:3.
The victory gave Jurassic Hattie her second straight win over Legacy Affair after taking last week’s $65,000 Ohio State Fair. Jogging Full Trot saved ground and rallied for third. For Jurassic Hattie, she is now a 17-time winner and has pushed her career earnings over three-quarters of a million. She is owned by her breeder Jerry Welch and trained by Stacey Van Huizen.
A familiar face returned to the Ohio spotlight in a big way Saturday night, as Clever Cody dominated the $100,000 Myron Charna Presidents Pace for Ohio-sired veteran pacers. A horse that struck fear into the hearts of Ohio horsemen not long ago, Clever Cody was a force throughout the Ohio Sires Stakes, capturing back-to-back championships and establishing himself as one of the division’s toughest competitors. Now owned and trained by Francois Lecomte and driven by Luke Ebersole, the veteran pacer was aggressively handled off the wings and with an impressive burst of speed coming off the first turn and immediately took control of the race, carving out fractions of 26.0, 54.1 and 1:22.3.
Clever Cody turned for home with the field in pursuit and powered through the stretch to stop the clock in 1:50.1, matching his lifetime best. Chasing him home was a familiar name in the Myron Charna Presidents Pace, as 2022 winner Charlie May and Dan Noble came charging after the leader to finish second. Rose Run Zane and Justin Irvine rounded out the trifecta. Luke said after the race “when you have the rail at Northfield you just got to go”. For Lecomte and Ebersole, the victory was a statement from a horse whose dominance once made him one of the most feared faces in Ohio racing. Clever Cody may have changed hands and found a new home in Lecomte’s stable, but his performance in the $100,000 Charna showed that the former Ohio Sires Stakes champion still has plenty of fight left and remains a force to be reckoned with not just in Ohio.