A trio of $40,000 Ohio Sires Stakes will be contested Saturday night (Aug. 11) at Northfield Park in the final round of the four-leg series for three-year-old pacing fillies.
The winners of these three divisions will likely define the field for the $275,000 Championship, set for Saturday, Sept. 8 at Eldorado Scioto Downs. The nine fillies with the highest number of points are eligible to enter the Championship.
Currently, Smiley Dragon sits atop the OSS standings, with 115 points and $44,480 earned from one third and two victories in the first three legs. McPansy sits a close second with 108 points and $42,000 in OSS money from two wins and a fifth. Bad Girls Rule and Prsntpretynperfect are tied for third with 103 points each, with leg one winner Up Front Flor Ida next with 70 points, followed by leg one winner Pet Walker (64 points), Baron Remy (52 points), leg three winner Kay Again (51 points) and Believe In Waco (40 points).
Smiley Dragon, owned and bred by Emerald Highlands Farm of Mount Vernon, Ohio, starts from post 5 in the first OSS division (race three). This $46,780-winning lass has captured OSS legs two (in 1:52.4) and three (in 1:52.3), after finishing third in leg one. Ronnie Wrenn Jr. drives the Dragon Again filly.
Kay Again will try for her second OSS victory, having won a leg three division at Scioto on July 14 in 1:52.2 with Tony Hall driving for trainer Mike Roth. This Dragon Again filly has career earnings of $133,470 and seasonal earnings of $91,780 for breeder-owner Alan Keith of Johnstown, Ohio.
Kimberly Dailey bridles up leg one winner, Bad Girls Rule, in the second OSS division (race six) for the 3rd Floors Stables of Springboro, Ohio. This World Of Rocknroll filly was clocked in 1:54.1 at Miami Valley in leg one, and since finished a smart second in both the second and third OSS legs. Bred by Spring Haven Farm, Bad Girls Rule has $235,046 in career earnings and $53,230 garnered this season. David Miller will pilot the bay lass from post 3.
Up Front Flor Ida, a daughter of Woodstock conditioned by Tim McKoy for Kevin McKinney and Virginia McKoy, starts from post 5 in the third OSS contest (race nine). She won a leg one division in 1:53.1 at Miami Valley, before finishing fifth in leg two and third in leg three. Bred by Ed Mullinax, Up Front Flor Ida has $96,298 in career earnings and $80,774 amassed in 2018 thus far. Kayne Kauffman drives.
The $400,000 Carl Milstein Memorial, an open invitational for three-year-old pacers carded as race 11, will feature North America Cup winner and Ohio Sires Stakes winner Lather Up, among others. This Ohio-bred son of Im Gorgeous, who is trained by Clyde Francis for breeders and owners Gary and Barbara Iles of Harrington, Del., will have Montrell Teague in the sulky from post 2. Lather Up, with $574,465 in his coffers, looks well poised for another huge effort, and is scheduled to race on Aug. 18 at Scioto in leg 4 of the Ohio Sires Stakes for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings.
Always A Prince, an Ohio-bred son of Always A Virgin bred by Emerald Highlands Farm and owned by Carl and Melanie Atley of Xenia, Ohio, starts from post 8 in the Milstein Memorial, for trainer Tyler George. This sophomore gelding will have Trace Tetrick in the sulky.
Springsteen and Dorsoduro Hanover are two other sophomores with Ohio connections. Powell, Ohio-resident Bruce Soulsby shares ownership in Springsteen, a $522,048-earning and New York Sire Stakes-winning son of Rock N Roll Heaven; while Wingfield Five of Kenton, Ohio owns a share of the Somebeachsomewhere gelding Dorsoduro Hanover, a winner of $575,603 in his career, including the $400,000 Adios Final at The Meadows on July 28.
(Ohio Sires Stakes)