Dayton: Bettor's Wish feeling like himself ahead of Saturday's Pacing Derby

Trainer and part-owner Chris Ryder was quite concerned about the racing future of Bettor's Wish following the September 5 Canadian Pacing Derby at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Contacted the day after the race, Ryder could not know for certain whether the 4-year-old by Bettor's Delight would return to the racetrack this year. After some time off and a qualifier at The Meadowlands, Ryder entered Bettor's Wish in Saturday's $176,500 Dayton Pacing Derby with expectations that the soon-to-be-stallion is healthy and ready for battle.

"Anytime a horse finishes tenth you have to be concerned," said Ryder in retrospect. "We qualified him at The Meadowlands and Dexter (Dunn) thought he felt like his old self." That was welcome news for Ryder and certainly great news for those who have appreciated following the racing career of Bettor's Wish, first or second in 31 of his 38 career starts.

On Saturday Bettor's Wish faces eight rivals on a super night of stakes action at Dayton Raceway. He landed post three with Dunn in the sulky and faces a solid group of veteran performers as well as a sensational sophomore in Ocean Rock.

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Ohio Sire Stakes champion Ocean Rock has toyed with most of his rivals consistently on the tough Ohio Sires circuit but faces rivals he's never encountered before in the Dayton Derby. An altered son of Rockin Amadeus, Ocean Rock ships to Dayton off a sparkling 1:49 2/5 performance over the Delaware County Fair oval in an Ohio Breeders Championship event. Ineligible to the Little Brown Jug, the performance inspired the Noble's (trainer Christi and driver Dan) to supplement to the Dayton Derby and take on older foes.

Ocean Rock drew post six and will certainly add another major player to a field bustling with talent.
From the inside, Backstreet Shadow and Tim Tetrick have controlling position as one of two of trainer Ron Burke's stars in the event. Though sixth in the recent Hoosier Park Pacing Derby, Backstreet Shadow made two strong moves from post seven in that contest and had ample reason for tiring.

Century Farroh won the Dan Patch at Hoosier Park in August over the pacesetting Bettor's Wish but then returned to Hoosier Park last week and finished seventh in its Pacing Derby. A 4-year-old by Mach Three, Century Farroh drew post four and will likely be more aggressively handled by driver David Miller on Saturday.

Last year's Breeders Crown sophomore champion Dancin Lou was also a non-factor at Hoosier Park last week following a second-place finish in the Canadian Pacing Derby on September 5. A 4-year-old by Sweet Lou, Dancin Lou could go over the $1 million mark in career earnings with a victory on Saturday.

Somehow people count out This Is The Plan and then the 5-year-old rises to the occasion and shows he's a force in this division. The Ron Burke-trained gelding had been out of the money in major stakes races until capturing the Hoosier Park Pacing Derby last Friday night in a 1:49 1/5 mile. Dexter Dunn guided him on that occasion, but Yannick Gingras will return to the sulky on Saturday from post seven.

The field for the Dayton Pacing Derby is rounded up by some solid Ohio-based performers, with Sectionline Bigry (post 2), Bllack Hole (post 8) and Our Majordan A (post 9) completing the group.

The card also includes another pair of $175,000 events, the Dayton Distaff Derby for older pacing mares headlined by Shartin N and the Dayton Trotting Derby with a field of nine trotters led by the elite mare Atlanta. The trio of features are slated as races 8, 10 and 12 on a card that kicks off at 6:15 PM and also contains an octet of $60,000 Buckeye Stallion Series Championships.

Ryder expects to start Bettor's Wish in the Allerage (October 11) at The Red Mile and then go onto the Breeders Crown at Hoosier Park and hopefully end his racing career in the TVG at The Meadowlands before heading to Diamond Creek Farm for stud duty..

The undefeated Party Girl Hill, fresh off her world-record sweeping performance in the Jugette, will go on Sunday (October 4) in the Bluegrass at The Red Mile. Ryder is more than amazed at how well the daughter of Captaintreacherous has raced this year. After her performances in Delaware he marveled about how well she comes out of the races.

"She bounces back so quickly. The races look like they are hard but they're not hard on her," said Ryder. "We shipped her to Kentucky after the Jugette and gave her three days off and she was ready to go."

Perhaps less appreciated in Party Girl Hill's super season thus far is the caliber of fillies she's had to race against. "I have a ton of respect for Lyons Sentinel," said Ryder, praising the runner-up in the first heat of the Jugette who cut the mile and paced in 1:49 4/5 over the half-mile track yet couldn't hold off Party Girl Hill late. "She just goes where she needs to go," said Ryder of Party Girl Hill, who he now places ahead of the top fillies he's trained, including Put On A Show.