Bllack Hole, an altered son of Mr Apples, found his way through a wall of horses in the final yards of the first OSS division, blasting through to a 1:50.4 clocking with Tyler Smith at the lines.
Trained by Clarence Foulk for his L&L Stables of Springfield, Ohio, this homebred black sophomore gelding left the gate at odds of 13-1 en route to recording his personal best by more than five full seconds. He was making his very first start in OSS competition.
Native's Sweetlou was second for Danny Noble at 9-1, with 8-5 favorite Seattle Hanover garnering third-place honors with Chris Page in the sulky.
"I bought the dam of this horse, Feel The Thunder, for $50,000 and she broke down before we ever got her to the races," explained Chad Foulk, son of the trainer. "And we bred her, so that's why I named the foal 'Bllack Hole,' because that's what she was to me after I paid that much for her and she wasn't able to race."
The unusual spelling of the gelding's name--with two "L's" instead of one--is in reference to Chad's two children, and Clarence's grandchildren, Luke and Lilly.
"That's also why we call the stable L&L Stables," Chad said. "This colt was decent at two, but he had to have some OCDs removed and then he needed throat surgery, so coming into this race, I really considered it to be his first start of the year, even though he had a fair win and a qualifier at Hoosier Park (on July 20)."
"I thought he was a good colt, but I didn't know he was this good!" he exclaimed.
Bllack Hole earned $14,801 as a 2-year-old with three wins and a second in just four starts. This latest triumph upped his lifetime earnings to $43,700. He had previously taken a mark of 1:55 last year over this same five-eighths mile oval.
Yankee Boots, an 8-1 choice, captured the second OSS division in 1:52.3, after being parked the mile with Danny Noble at the lines. The overland route was obviously preferable to the gelded son of Yankee Cruiser, who is conditioned and co-owned by Steve Carter for Peggy Carter, Chuck Grubbs, and Joe Whitacre.
Yankee Boots
Rock Candy, the 1-9 favorite, who had lead throughout the mile, was second by neck with Ronnie Wrenn, Jr., at the lines, with 28-1 longshot Gold Digger King (Kayne Kauffman) getting up for third.
Yankee Boots, a homebred, had finished third in the second leg of OSS competition after bypassing leg one. He is the second and most prolific foal out of the Well Said mare Boots N Saddle p, 2, 1:57.1f ($15,404), and now sports a career bankroll of $191,420 with this fourth victory of the season and 14th win lifetime.
by Kimberly Rinker, Ohio Standardbred Development Fund Administrator
