Val’s Girl remains undefeated on finals night

Ocean City, MD – Ocean Downs closed out the 2022 harness racing season on Wednesday Sept. 7^th with four $75,000 Maryland Sire Stakes Finals and a $25,000 Open Invitational Pace on the 15-race card with total purses for the night at over $425,000.

The freshman colt and gelding trotters went to post as race 2 on the very breezy night with on and off misty rain. With the favorites making breaks leaving the gate, reinsman John Wagner was able to keep Jewett (Lockkeeper) on task holding off a strong Googoo Eyes (Googoo Gaagaa) in the 2:02.4 ‘Ronald “Doc” Banning’ Memorial. Wagner is the trainer for Pam Wagner, Arlene Cameron is the breeder.

In the ‘Dale Massey’ Memorial for the two-year-old trotting fillies, Goolishness (Googoo Gaagaa) set the stakes record going gate to wire in 2:00.1 with driver Trae Porter in the bike. Excuse My Beauty (Googoo Gaagaa) took the place spot. Goolishness is owned and bred by Thomas Cooke, Roger Hans is the trainer.

Smooth Rocket (Cam’s Rocket) picked up his third win in a row for Russell Foster Racing LLC in sire stakes action winning the ‘Hubert Jackson’ Memorial for the two-year-old pacing colts and geldings striding away in 1:57.4. Center Of It All (Rusty’s All In) charged up for second. Russell Foster was between the wheels with Megan Foster the trainer and Brian Emerson the breeder.

The final stake of the summer season was the ‘W. W. “Pete” Shaw’ Memorial for the pacing fillies. Val’s Girl (Rusty’s For Real) did not disappoint winning her seventh race in as many starts, mirroring her mother Miss Valerie’s freshman career when she was undefeated in 10 starts.

Val’s Girl lowered her record to 1:57.1. The combination of Roger Plate Jr. driver, Steve LeBlanc trainer and owners Leblanc Racing Inc., William Lutz Jr. and Count De Money Stable were the same for both mother and daughter and Tom and Linda Winebrener the breeders of both. Spy’s Last Game (Rusty’s For Real) held on strong to finish second.

Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi LLC’s Bee Two Bee, fresh off a winning score in the Open pace at Yonkers Raceway the previous week, made it two straight last night with a near wire-to-wire win in the $25,000 open pace on closing night at Ocean Downs.

Trained by Ron Burke and driven by Jason Thompson, the five-year-old Sunshine Beach stallion stopped the timer in 1:51.3, a new track record for aged stallions.

Slick Tony and Shoobee Doo A closed briskly to take the place and show honors.

For complete race results, click here.

by Cheri Stambaugh, for the Maryland Standardbred Race Fund