A trio of $40,000 Ohio Sires Stakes–each clocked in 1:51.2–were contested on Saturday night, June 10 at Scioto Downs. This was Leg 2 of four in the lucrative harness racing series for Ohio-bred 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings.
Crowd favorite (3-2) McThriller captured the first OSS division handily with Chris Page at the lines. Conditioned by Brian Brown, the altered son of McArdle led at every quarter mile marker to notch his first victory of 2017 in his third try.
"I talked to Brian (trainer Brown) before the race and he said he thought this colt would be tough to beat off the front end," Page offered.
Nr Holdings, LLC of Boca Raton, FL; TLP Stable, Kearny , NJ; and Howard Taylor, Philadelphia, PA own McThriller, who upped his career earnings to $155,522 with this latest triumph.
Bred by Gbw Breeding Farms, Inc., McThriller finished a neck in front of the late-closing Lightning Onmyfeet (Ronnie Wrenn, Jr.), while Sugar Island (Mark Evers) was third, 6½ lengths back at odds of 36-1.
McThriller
Brown also harnessed Barnabas to win OSS division two. The brown McArdle gelding was steered by Ronnie Wrenn, Jr., to a near-perfect neck victory over rival Major Nemesis, who had lead throughout until the final yards for driver Tony Hall. Mr McDreamy (Aaron Merriman) picked up show honors.
"This horse had a long ship up from Florida and just wasn't himself earlier this season," Wrenn, Jr. acknowledged. "But he was awesome in his last start and raced back tonight just as strong."
A winner of six races in his career now and $108,314, Barnabas–who towers over his rivals at 17+ hands tall–was bred by Hickory Lane Farm's Kevin Greenfield and is owned by the Ohio quartet of Country Club Acres, Joe Sbrocco, Richard Lombardo and William Robinson.
Barnabas
Drunk On Your Love utilized come-from-behind tactics to triumph in the third OSS division with Dan Noble in the bike. The Foreclosure N gelding is conditioned by Jim Pollock, Jr. for Mark Ford, Campbell Hall, NY and Jason Settlemoir, Cream Ridge, NJ and now has seven career wins and $123,500 in his lifetime bank account.
"This colt just keeps getting better with maturity," Noble offered. "He was a very good colt as a 2-year-old and has continued to mature into an even stronger 3-year-old."
Drunk On Your Love was all alone at the wire, some 6¼ lengths in front of 14-1 Banderbear (John Campbell) and 7-5 McRaven (Ronnie Wrenn, Jr.).
Drunk On Your Love
Ohio Sires Stakes action continues Saturday, June 17 at Northfield Park with 3-year-old filly trotters vying and 3-year-old colt trotters battling on Monday, June 19 at Scioto Downs.
Kimberly Rinker