Delaware, OH — Sugar Instead continued her dominance in the state of Ohio with a 1:56 win in her $65,600 division of the Ohio Breeders Championship for 2-year-old trotting fillies on Wednesday (Sept. 20) at the Delaware (Ohio) County Fair.

The Volstead filly overcame the outside post seven to sit third at the quarter- and half-mile stations in :27.3 and :56.3. Driver Ronnie Gillespie tipped Sugar Instead off the rail at the three-quarter pole in 1:26.1, and the pair cruised home in :29.4 to score by 6-1/4 lengths. My Rory (Tony Hall) was second and Westfiftyfive (Dexter Dunn) was third.

Sugar Instead proved a powerful two-move winner in her division of the Ohio Breeders Championship. Conrad Photo.

Virgil Morgan Jr. conditions the winner for co-owners Joyce McClelland and Larry Wills. The win was her seventh in nine seasonal starts and pushed her earnings to $363,925.

In the second $65,600 division, Roxanna (Aaron Merriman) held off Chulita (Tyler Smith) and She’s Spicy (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) in 1:57.

Chris Beaver trains and co-owns Roxanna with Sandra Burnett. The What The Hill filly was unraced at 2, but has made $200,500 this season.

Refined takes OBC older trot

Refined (Tyler Smith) took the $34,400 Ohio Breeders Championship for older trotters, beating the boys in 1:54.1. Caviar Gold (Aaron Merriman) rallied within a neck for second and Rose Run Valor (Kayne Kauffman) was third.

Refined is owned by the partnership of Joyce McClelland and Larry Wills. Virgil Morgan Jr. trains the 7-year-old Uncle Peter mare. Her career earnings are approaching the $1 million mark.

Cantab’s Joy, A Few Choice Word prevail in Standardbred

Thanks to a patient drive by Brett Miller, Cantab’s Joy took the $40,000 Standardbred for 2-year-old filly trotters in 2:00.1. Cantab’s Joy was 2-1/2 lengths ahead of Fiya (Tyler Smith) and Heavenly Heart (Dexter Dunn).

The winner is owned by Greg Luther Racing and trained by Todd Luther. It was her third career win in nine seasonal starts.

A Few Choice Words (Yannick Gingras) went gate-to-wire to take the $40,000 Standardbred for 2-year-old filly pacers over Track’n Field (Chris Page) and Fresh Legs (Tim Tetrick) by 2-1/2 lengths.

The Courtly Choice filly is trained by Blake MacIntosh for the Clancy Farms. She has won four of her nine 2023 starts and earned $73,222. The final time of 1:54.3 was a new lifetime mark.