Dayton: Pelling stable stars ready for action in Dayton Derby
Trainer Brett Pelling is bringing his heavy hitters to Hollywood Dayton on Saturday night, with defending Horse of the Year Test Of Faith and Dan Patch aged pacing champion Allywag Hanover racing in a pair of $250,000 events. Those contests finish out a 12-race program that also features eight $300,000 Ohio Sires Stakes championships, as well as total purses of $3.4 million, a record for Standardbreds in the Buckeye State.
Pelling couldn't wait to get Allywag Hanover back on the track following his second-place finish behind Bulldog Hanover in the Harrah's Hoosier Park Pacing Derby on September 23.
"He's really at the top of his game right now," said Pelling. "I'm not saying he could have beaten Bulldog Hanover, but he got totally stopped on the final turn and still paced home in 25 3/5."
That final fraction equaled Bulldog Hanover, who set the Harrah's Hoosier Park standard with a 1:46 3/5 mile.
Pelling expects a more even battle in the Dayton Derby, but both Allywag Hanover (post seven) and Bulldog Hanover (post eight) will have their work cut out in the field of nine that goes as the final of the dozen races on the Hollywood Dayton card.
"I'd say he's every bit as good right now as he was last year," said Pelling of Allywag Hanover, who has won four of his nine starts this year, with his lone six-figure victory coming over the five-eighths-mile track at Pocono in August.
Bulldog Hanover has done nothing wrong this year with 11 wins in 12 starts, but the Dayton Derby will be a test given the difficult post position, as well as the five-eighths-mile track. The fastest pacer of all-time by virtue of his 1:45 4/5 victory at the Meadowlands, Bulldog Hanover is expected to challenge that record on October 9 at The Red Mile.
The Dayton Derby has plenty of talent in the field, but the Ohio-based Charlie May, winner of the Ewart Memorial on September 10 at Scioto, drew post nine. The 4-year-old by McArdle is fresh off a 1:49 4/5 victory at the Delaware County Fairgrounds on September 18 but faces an uphill battle on Saturday.
Ron Burke's pair of This Is The Plan (post four) and Workin Ona Mystery (post five) could prove spoilers in the field. The former is a $2.8 million winner, while the latter was a strong third in the Harrah's Hoosier Park Pacing Derby.
Catch The Fire was used following a seven-week break in the Harrah's Hoosier Park Pacing Derby and faded badly. He'll look to rebound from post six and back on regular rest.
Test Of Faith enters the $250,000 Dayton Distaff Derby (race 10) in peak condition. "I think her race in the Milton [September 17] was one of her best this year," said Pelling. "David [Miller] moved her early, and she was strong to the wire."
Test Of Faith has won eight of her 14 starts this year, appears to be getting stronger, perhaps running out of the type of competition she was up against over the summer.
"When she's drawn badly, she's had some tough trips," said Pelling. That won't be the case on Saturday as Test Of Faith and driver David Miller drew post three in the field of eight. While many of the foes she vanquished at Woodbine Mohawk Park won't be in the lineup on Saturday, Kobe's Gigi, a 51-1 upsetter of Test Of Faith on Hambletonian Day at the Meadowlands in the Lady Liberty, has drawn post two for the Dayton Distaff. The daughter of JK Endofanera has not won a race since that major upset but looks to rebound here.
Pelling was confident when he entered When Dovescry in the September 22 Miss Versatility final at The Delaware County Fairgrounds, but his hopes of victory were dashed into the first turn. "There was just no way she was going to get around Atlanta," Pelling said of the second-place finish. The tables are reversed for the $250,000 Dayton Oaks Derby for trotting mares (race eight), with When Dovescry drawing post three and Atlanta landing post four in the field of nine. The two champion mares will not be alone, as Bella Bellini (post nine) returns to racing mares after a sparkling 1:51 2/5 mile in capturing the Caesars Trotting Classic at Harrah's Hoosier Park on September 23. Bella Bellini must overcome the difficult starting spot, but the daughter of Bar Hopping has done some incredible things this year and appears to be in peak form. Dexter Dunn will drive Bella Bellini for trainer "Nifty" Norman.
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Maple Leaf Trot champion Back Of The Neck (post six) returns to action in the $250,000 Dayton Trotting Derby (race nine) after going unraced since the September 3 mile at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Trainer Ake Svanstedt has been known for having his horses fit following a brief layoff, so Back Of The Neck should be ready for Saturday's contest.
Last year's Dan Patch Award winner as the top trotter in the sport, Jujubee, will be making just his third start as a 4-year-old in the Trotting Derby, and the son of Creatine drew post five. Jujubee was a creditable fifth in the Caesars Trotting Classic, his first test of the year against top-flight competition.
The Hollywood Dayton program is enhanced by the presence of this year's Little Brown Jug, Milstein and Adios champion Bythemissal. A 3-year-old gelding by Ohio's leading pacing stallion Downbytheseaside, Bythemissal will be in search of his 11th win of the year in just his 13th start in the $300,000 Ohio Sires Stakes championship for 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings. Carded as race 11, the Sire Stakes championship finds Bythemissal and driver Chris Page starting from post two. This will be the Ron Burke trainee's first start over the Hollywood Dayton racing surface.