Brown Buckeye pulls off upset in Honey Jay Stakes

Brown Buckeye was game in the lane to upset Altissimo, the reigning Ohio-bred horse of the year, in the $75,000 Honey Jay Stakes for statebred sprinters on Saturday at Thistledown.

Brown Buckeye ($16) stumbled at the start, but quickly recovered under Jose Bracho, rushing up outside of Altissimo to press the pace as the heavy favorite, under Christian Pilares, zipped through the opening quarter in 22.82 seconds. Brown Buckeye was still on the hip of Altissimo as the two began to edge away from the rest of the field nearing the quarter pole, with Altissimo completing the half in 46.46 seconds. The two exchanged bumps as they dueled down the lane, with Brown Buckeye gaining a narrow advantage near the furlong grounds, and edging away in the final yards to win by a half-length. He stopped the clock in 1:11.02 for the six furlongs.

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Pilares claimed foul against Bracho for interference in the stretch, but the claim was disallowed. Meanwhile, Gary Johnson, the trainer of Over Icce, who finished 5 1/2 lengths back in third, claimed foul against Pilares for alleged interference on the backstretch, but that claim was also disallowed.

This was the first career stakes victory for Brown Buckeye, a 5-year-old Big Brown gelding who is trained by Jeff Radosevich for owner Ron Paolucci. He had finished third in last year's Honey Jay, which Altissimo won by 3 3/4 lengths over two-time Ohio horse of the year Mo Dont No, with Brown Buckeye just another neck back in third.