Gordon Waterstone

Lexington, KY — Catch The Fire, who is riding a three-race win streak that includes a $157,100 Sam McKee Memorial division on Aug. 7 at The Meadowlands and the $325,000 Dan Patch last time out on Aug. 13 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park, has been installed the 5-2 morning-line favorite in Saturday night’s (Aug. 28) $100,000 #Senditin Invitational Pace (race 10) at Eldorado Scioto Downs. Catch The Fire will be driven by Trevor Smith from post seven.

This is the second year Scioto has offered up the #Senditin Invitional, which in 2020 was raced in a pair of $100,000 divisions. Brassy Hanover and Workin Ona Mystery, who won those two splits, are both back this year in hopes of repeating.

Brassy Hanover, who finished a close sixth to Catch The Fire in the Dan Patch, will start from post one with driver Aaron Merriman, while Workin Ona Mystery, who was ninth in the Dan Patch and is still winless in six starts this year, will line up in post five with driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr.

In the Dan Patch, Tellmeaboutit (inside) closed from ninth at the top of the stretch with a final quarter of :25.2 to miss by just a neck of catching betting favorite Catch The Fire. Dean Gillette Photography.

Gabe Prewitt, director of racing at Scioto Downs, said he and race secretary Jason Roth were lining up the field for this year’s #Senditin and were waiting for the Dan Patch results to finalize the group. That’s when Tellmeaboutit roared into #Senditin contention with a second-place finish in the Dan Patch, closing from ninth at the top of the stretch with a final quarter of :25.2 to miss by just a neck of catching betting favorite Catch The Fire.

“It would have been negligent on our part if we didn’t invite Tellmeaboutit after that effort in the Dan Patch,” admitted Prewitt, whose final invitation list included six who started in the Dan Patch.

“When Gabe called and invited me, I said I’d come but I won’t come if you saddle me with the nine hole,” laughed trainer Alvin Miller, who also shares ownership of the 5-year-old gelding with Twila Harts. “And he said, ‘It didn’t work out too bad for you last time.’ I got the invite and I said I’d gladly go.”

Although Tellmeaboutit was racing on his home track at Hoosier Park in the Dan Patch — he’s made all but four of his 58 career starts at the track in Anderson, Ind. — and coming off a career-best 1:48 victory the week before in an Open, because he was starting from the outside post nine he was overlooked by the bettors as he was sent off at odds of 68-1. Driven by Mike Oosting, Tellmeaboutit was 7-1/2 lengths behind in ninth going around the final turn when he uncorked that vicious last quarter that nearly led to the huge upset.

“At Hoosier that’s a pretty tough spot to come from,” said Miller. “He passed some awfully nice horses that last eighth.”

Tellmeaboutit has had a remarkable career, posting a ledger of 58-20-18-11 with $620,325 in earnings. Conrad photo.

Tellmeaboutit has had a remarkable career, posting a ledger of 58-20-18-11 with $620,325 in earnings. Only twice has Tellmeaboutit gone out and missed bringing home a paycheck. Not too bad for a horse Miller purchased as a yearling — by first-year sire Tellitlikeitis out of the mare Portia Blue Chip — for $25,000 at the 2017 Hoosier Classic Sale.

“I bought that colt for myself and Twila after I didn’t get the colt we wanted. He was later in the sale so I let her buy half of him,” remembered Miller. “If you look up that horse’s mommy, when we bought him she was a 100 percent producer. Out of a new stud we try to buy out of a solid mare, and she was pretty solid.”

Miller said it didn’t take long to realize Tellmeaboutit was going to need to be gelded.

“He was kind of an ornery cuss so we had to geld him and that’s made him a racehorse. It’s a catch-22,” he said.

Miller is based at the fairgrounds in Converse, Ind., and he currently trains a stable of 25. Tellmeaboutit won his first career start in 2018 at the Converse fairgrounds, and for the rest of his career he has been a staple at Hoosier Park, where in 2019 on his way to honors as Indiana’s 3-year-old Male Pacer of the Year he earned a share of the track record for sophomore geldings of 1:48.3.

The #Senditin will be only the fourth time Tellmeaboutit has raced outside the Hoosier State, the others being a first, second and fourth last year at Hollywood Dayton.

“I’m a Hoosier and I like staying here,” said Miller. “I did think about staking him out east a little bit this year, but maybe next year. I don’t travel a whole lot.”

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