$200,000 Ohio Sire Stakes action at Northfield

Grove City, OH – Aaron Merriman and Chris Beaver teamed up to win two of the four $50,000 harness racing divisions in the Ohio Sires Stakes for two-year-old colt trotters Monday evening at MGM Northfield Park.  The pair won the opener with Uncle Moneybags and won the final division with Caviar Creek.

Merriman took Uncle Moneybags (Uncle Peter) to the lead off the gate and was making it look easy through the first half mile with fractions of :29.4, and 1:00.3.  As the field headed up the backstretch, Brett Miller pulled the favorite Rose Run Ari three-wide taking aim at the leader.  Around the final turn, Rose Run Ari pulled even with Uncle Moneybags, but could not gain the lead.

After fighting off the challenge from Rose Run Ari down the stretch, Uncle Moneybags held off a late-charging Silverton and Ronnie Wrenn Jr. to win by a length in 1:59.3.  It was the first win in two starts for Uncle Moneybags.  Beaver co-owns the gelding with Barry Carter, VIP Internet Stables, and Tim Homan.

Silverton was second with Rose Run Ari third.

UNCLE MONEYBAGS REPLAY

In the final division of the night, Merriman raced Caviar Creek (Triumphant Caviar) to the lead but yielded to 1/5 favorite Whats Shakin and Ronnie Gillespie, settling into the pocket.  Whats Shakin cut fractions of :29, :59, and 1:28.3 through the first three-quarters.

Around the final turn, Rose Run Arch and Wrenn swung wide to take a shot at the lead, but Merriman took Caviar Creek down the passing lane blowing by the Whats Shakin to win by a length in 1:58.4.  It was the first win of the year for Caviar Creek.  Beaver co-owns Caviar Creek with Steve Zeehandelar, Leo Fleming, and Mark Schwartz.

Rose Run Arch finished second while Whats Shakin faded to third.

CAVIAR CREEK REPLAY

In the second division, Lt Loverboy (Long Tom) and Kurt Sugg grabbed the lead off the gate but watched as Chris Page Rose Run Alex went by to lead after a :29.3 opening quarter.  The lead didn’t last long as Lt Loverboy retook the lead and never looked back cruising to an easy two-length win in 1:58.3.  Lt Loverboy has hit the board in all three starts winning two.  Daren Harvey trains the gelding for Wayne Mast Jr. and Callam Racing.

Rose Run Alex was second with What A Buckeye finishing third.

LT LOVERBOY REPLAY

Quintuplet (What The Hill) with Wrenn had an easy time in the third division as five of the seven starters made breaks.  Quintuplet won by four lengths in 1:59.1 for his second win in as many starts.  Rosy Weaver trains for Mark Martin and Patricia Jury.

Seven Lick Tom finished second with Dublins Angel recovering to finish third.

QUINTUPLET REPLAY

Ohio Sires Stakes action continues Wednesday night at MGM Northfield Park with the third leg for Three-Year-Old filly trotters.  The first race post time is 6:00 PM.

The Hanners Brothers, Luke and Austin, each collected a win in the Buckeye Stallion Series action Monday (July 15) at MGM Northfield Park.  The five $20,000 divisions of freshmen pacing fillies closed out the first leg of the BSS.

Luke Hanners set the winning standard in the third division by driving Maa Honey (Well Said) to victory. Not to be outdone by his younger brother, Austin guided Racin Like A Star (Racing Hill) to the Winner’s Circle in the fourth division.

Maa Honey sat fifth, seven lengths off the lead at the half before moving into contention up the backstretch.  She went three-wide around the final turn to grab the lead.  At 8-1, Maa Honey kept her momentum going, opening up to win in 1:56.3 by two lengths. Tyler Bates trains the filly for Sean Mcghee and Suzanne Bates.  The victory was the fourth career win in five starts for Maa Honey.

Big Bad Beachbunny (Kurt Sugg) was second with Four Carat Rock (Dan Noble) finishing third.

In the next division, Austin Hanners made it look easy, taking 1-2 Racin Like A Star wire-to-wire for the win. The filly set fractions in :29., :58.4, and 1:28. before defeating brother Luke and Trunk Bay Hanover by a length in 1:57.2. It was the first career win for Racin Like A Star who is trained by Steve Carter and owned by Jeff Fought Racing, Adam Friedland, and Hunter Holton.

Trunk Bay Hanover was second while Rose Run Alexandra (Anthony Macdonald) was third.

Pink Jammies with Hunter Myers took the first division in 1:58.2. After an early miscue from the 1-5 favorite Gorgeous Package, 12-1 Pink Jammies found herself in the lead for a brief moment. After settling into a pocket trip behind Whiskey Hill, Pink Jammies snuck into the passing lane to overtake her competitors in the final strides. It was the second win for Pink Jammies. Rosy Weaver trains and co-owns the filly alongside Heartland Acres.

Gorgeous Package (Macdonald) rallied second with Whiskey Hill (Luke Ebersole) faded to third.

Maddie’s Delite (Lather Up) raced to the lead out of the gate and never looked back in the second division. Driven by Noble, the 1-5 favorite fought off challenges down the backside to win in 1:56.2. It was the third win in four starts for the filly. Carter trains for Scp Stable. Maddie’s Delite has earned $31,187 this year.

It was a dead heat for second between Spinal Cracker (Trevor Smith) and Lily Grace Hill (Aaron Merriman).

In the final division of the night, Cameron McCown worked 9-1 Guard The Fire through the field from sixth place on the backside. The daughter of Catch The Fire went four-wide around the final turn and charged down the stretch to win by two lengths in 1:56.4.  Guard The Fire was making her first career start for trainer Brian Brown. The filly is owned by Hutchison Harness LLC.

Fear My Heart (L. Hanners) was second with Downbytheastside (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) third.

Buckeye Stallion Series action continues Tuesday night (July 16) with the opening leg for two-year-old filly trotters at Eldorado Scioto Downs. First race post time is 5:45 PM.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

by Frank Fraas and Ashley Dailey, for the OHHA