by Miami Valley Raceway
Lebanon, OH — Rosemary Rose kept her undefeated streak alive Friday night (April 21) at Miami Valley Raceway capturing the 46th edition of the James K. Hackett Memorial for 3-year-old Ohio-sired fillies in 1:53.1. Driver Mike Wilder took no prisoners with the odds-on favorite in the $40,000 championship race, springing from the gate and heading the classy final field through fractions of :27, :56 and 1:24.3, widening her lead around the final turn, and then holding fast-closing runner-up Full Body Shot (Mike Micallef) at bay by 1-3/4 lengths at the finish. Won For Gigi (Peter Wrenn) got the show dough by finishing three lengths behind the winner.
Conrad photo
The connections of undefeated Rosemary Rose were joined by racing officials, including OSRC Chairman Robert Schmitz and co-founder of the Hackett Memorial Mel Hagemeyer, in the winner’s circle following her 1:53.1 championship effort.
Ron Burke trains the sophomore daughter of Foreclosure N for Burke Racing Stable LLC, Jason Melillo and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. Rosemary Rose is now five-for-five in 2017 after a freshman season when she was two-for-two. Her half of the $40,000 purse bumped her earnings to $83,050.
With the Hackett championship, Rosemary Rose was automatically issued the first invitation to compete in one of the four new $50,000 Scarlet and Grey Invitationals on Miami Valley’s closing program on Monday (May 8). She will likely see her next action, however, on Monday (May 1) as a prohibitive favorite in a $40,000 division of the first leg of the 2017 Ohio Sires Stakes program.
While the Hackett Filly Championship was won by the public choice, a huge longshot found the winner’s circle following the $22,000 Mares Open Pace on Friday. A Little Starstruk, with North America’s dash leading driver, Aaron Merriman, in the sulky, upset a full field of the best mares in the Midwest at 29-1 odds. The 6-year-old daughter of Well Said was plucked from a $15,000 claimer just over a month ago by owner-trainer Chris McGuire.
After winning a $20,000 claimer two weeks ago, she was entered in open company but drew an outside post last week and finished sixth, although she paced her mile in 1:52.4. This week she drew inside, raced in sixth along the pylons as her adversaries did fierce combat through fractions of :27, :54.3 and 1:23, and then slid up the inside before finding a seam and angling out to edge fellow longshot Art I Sweet (Ken Holliday) in deep stretch. Safe From Terror (Dan Noble) closed fastest of all to garner show laurels.
A Little Starstruk now boasts 22 lifetime wins and $218,537 in earnings.
Racing resumes Saturday night (April 22) at Miami Valley when the features will be the $40,000 Hackett Memorial championship for pacing colts and a $20,000 Open Pace.