Harness: Ohio-breds battle nationally for Buckeye State Horse of the Year honors

As Lexington winds up and we head toward the Breeders Crown, as happens so often, many national divisional honors, and certainly the Horse of the Year title, lay in the balance. While this is the norm nationally, it is not normal in Ohio.

With Ohio Super Night, held on Labor Day weekend, and the Ohio Breeders Championships at Delaware later in September, divisional titles and Horse of the Year within the state are usually wrapped up well before the hammer falls on the first yearling at Fasig-Tipton. While Ohio's divisional titles mostly seem clear this year, Horse of the Year is a wide-open affair, with more horses making their mark on the national scene than at any time in recent history. In the sport's most recent Top 10 poll, five Ohio horses received multiple votes, with Charlie May seventh and Sea Silk just outside the top 10.

Week one at Lexington looked very much like a repeat of the Ohio championships, so much so that horses like Smothastenesewhisky (Nob Hill High), a 3-year-old filly with $269,349 on her card this year, and World Champion trotter Mission Accepted (Manofmanymissions), with $240,510 earned, who were not present, are barely part of the conversation despite their outstanding seasons. The pair have combined for 20 wins in 2021.

Outstanding sophomore trotter Winning Ticket (Triumphant Caviar-Lotto Winner) is 11 of 12 on the season with his only loss being a third-place finish in the Canadian Trotting Classic where he cut the fractions before being collared in the lane. The Chris Beaver trainee has earned a remarkable $422,213 this season, yet it appears that even he will need to do more to be a serious contender for Buckeye State honors, despite being an Ohio Triple Crown winner (Ohio State Fair Stakes, Ohio Sires Stakes Final and Ohio Breeders Championship).

Ocean Rocks, an Ohio Triple Crown winner last year, won last Saturday's $168,000 Dayton Pacing Derby. He has also won the $100,000 Charna Invitational at Northfield, the $135,000 Ewart Memorial at Scioto Downs and the $182,000 Hoosier Park Pacing Derby. The Sandra Burnett homebred son of Rockin Amadeus-Ocean Pearl has a seasonal mark of 1:48 and earnings this year of $381,855. Christi Noble trains and Dan Noble normally pilots, although Chris Page got the call at Hoosier. And while he is currently the hottest horse in the free-for-all ranks, even he is just now entering the conversation for Ohio's best, whereas in most previous years he would have been dominating the conversation.

Coming into Lexington, the Brian Brown-trained freshman Ohio Triple Crown-winning Downbytheseaside colt Gulf Shores had my preliminary Ohio HOTY vote. His Delaware effort was the best of any during the week, as he took pressure throughout his mile on a bad track and held off all challengers. After drawing outside in his $110,000 Bluegrass division (a redraw due to a race office error) he was interfered with at three-quarters but still finished second, beaten only a head for driver Ronnie Wrenn and owners Country Club Acres, Diamond Creek Racing and Wingfield Brothers. Normally that would be enough to hold position. The loss was not his fault and the video shows he was a likely winner if not for the road trouble. But the results of a trio of other Ohio-breds at The Red Mile last weekend means the freshman who tasted defeat for the first time in seven career starts, has more work to do to earn my ultimate vote.

Herculisa, a 3-year-old trotting filly, is a World Champion and Ohio Triple Crown winner. Trained by Virgil Morgan, Jr. for Jesmeral Stables, Brett Miller piloted her to a comfortable win in her $74,200 Bluegrass split in Sunday's (10/3) slop. She is 10-7-1-0 this year and has a seasonal bankroll of $352,783. She had two early season Sires Stakes losses and a loss to older horses in a high condition race. In most years she would be a

lock for Ohio Horse of the Year. But not in 2021.

The marquee Buckeye is, of course, sophomore pacer Charlie May, Don Tiger's homebred son of McArdle-Stipple Hanover. All he has done this year is earn $569,529 while winning eight of 15 starts and finishing second five times. But it is one of his two off-the-board finishes that is most notable to most racing fans and handicappers. Charlie May won the $700,000 Meadowlands Pace only to be disqualified for interference. Keep that win on his card and he is an easy HOTY choice, as he would have almost $1,000,000 earned this season and would have been eligible to supplement to the Little Brown Jug, where anything could have happened. Brett Miller piloted the Steve Carter trainee to victory over Perfect Sting in his $85,000 Bluegrass division over a sloppy Red Mile oval on October 3. He has to be the easiest kind of Ohio HOTY choice, right?

Nope. That is because the freshman filly pacer Sea Silk (Downbytheseaside-Silk Purse) stepped up to face Open stakes competition after winning her Ohio Triple Crown and eight in a row. She cruised to a gate-to-wire 1:50 3/5 victory in her $145,000 Bluegrass effort on October 1, pushing her earnings to $446,092 for owners Burke Racing, Weaver Bruscemi Llc,, Knox Services and Hatfield Stables. Ron Burke trains the undefeated filly, now nine-for-nine, and Chris Page is her regular pilot. Right now, I would argue she is the favorite to win top honors in Ohio, even though it looks like she is taking the second week at Lexington off.

We still have week two at Lexington. We have the Breeders Crown. And we have a handful of other stakes races scattered across the country. Perhaps one of the top choices will falter, or one of the mid-pack contenders will really step up. Regardless, for the first time in many, many years, Ohio-breds (not one or two, but a barnful) are proving they can compete on a national scale. The next month is going to be a lot of fun for this Ohio-bred. Now, whether it's on Sea Silk, Charlie May, Gulf Shores or one of the other Ohio HOTY contenders, go cash. See you next month.