Harness: Setback aside, Melander aiming Setyoursightshigh for Oaks

Trajectory in July matters more than it does in May, and that's quite fortunate for a sophomore trotting filly with hopes of reaching new heights in the Hambletonian Oaks.

Setyoursightshigh had sunk far away from the objective back in May when she struggled to finish in the inaugural $300,000 Oak Grove Trotting Oaks. The filly from the first crop of Ohio-based In Range headed into that final following an encouraging performance in her elimination but left the race with doubts of her future within Ohio or beyond.

"She flipped her palate," said trainer Marcus Melander, describing the specific unsettling incident on May 18 at Oak Grove that saw Setyoursightshigh lead at the quarter in 26 2/5, swooping the field from post eight, only to fade to a distant eighth at the finish. Setyoursightshigh would complete the mile, losing the race by nearly 42 lengths without making a break and trot her final quarter in 35 2/5 seconds.

Though Melander knew what caused the disappointing result, there were mixed reviews on what the next steps should be. "We looked at the possibility of performing surgery," said Melander of a common procedure that has resolved the issues for some but not for all. "We decided against it and instead gave her some time off."

Melander also said they gave Setyoursightshigh EPM medication as well to hope to resolve the issue.

With the early Grand Circuit races behind her, Melander looked to get the filly back on track with a qualifier at Harrah's Hoosier Park in early June. "She was just ok in the qualifier," said Melander, noting that the filly didn't finish out her mile as expected.

A month after the Oak Grove incident, Setyoursightshigh was entered in the Ohio Sires Stakes at Scioto Downs and backed to an even-money proposition. Despite notably softer competition and Setyoursightshigh getting the lead in the race, the filly would falter in the stretch and finish second, giving pause to the connections.

"She got scared," Melander said, describing what he believed to be a situation of the filly remembering the May 18 race and anticipating that her air would be cut off, essentially pulling herself up before a repeat of the issue.

Perhaps time was the greatest healer, as the memory would fade and Setyoursightshigh would return on July 4 for another Ohio Sires Stakes race at Scioto Downs. This time the results were much more positive, as Setyoursightshigh would win for the first time as a 3-year-old in convincing fashion, trotting to a 1:54 victory with a 28 second final quarter.

"Mike (Wilder) told me after the race that she was back to her old self," said Melander of the conversation with her pilot, who didn't put the filly on the front-end but came from fourth at the half to roll by the leaders in handy fashion.

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Last year, Setyoursightshigh ended the year on a high note, capturing the Ohio Sires Stakes championship and then going on to back-to-back second-place finishes in her Breeders Crown elimination and final. The freshman campaign saw her compete in Ohio and Kentucky, reach both Sire Stakes finals, and saw her win seven times in 11 tries with four second-place finishes. That consistency was thrown for a loop in just her second start this year in one race. Whether the filly could bounce back to Grand Circuit competition was still a question mark until this past Sunday evening at Vernon Downs.

The $139,000 Grade 2 Zweig Memorial for fillies was the challenge, and Dexter Dunn would return to the sulky. It was Dunn in the bike for that Oak Grove race, and he would have the conviction to race the filly without concern for what happened in the worst race of her career.

Dunn drove Setyoursightshigh with confidence, putting her on the front-end in 26 4/5 and setting a reasonable 55 4/5 opening-half. When favored Madam Cheval came to call with Tim Tetrick on the outside, a battle ensued. Dunn had rated his filly nicely, hitting three-quarters in 1:24 3/5 and making it into a final-quarter sprint.

Tetrick had Madam Cheval challenging on Setyoursightshigh's right flank, and Matt Kakaley put Leading Lady to her inside as the pair of Nancy Takter-trained fillies tried to pass. Setyoursightshigh would have none of that, and she battled both quite gamely, preserving the victory with a 27 1/5 final quarter and a career-best clocking of 1:51 4/5.

"I was very happy with that performance," said Melander of the filly that heads next to the biggest challenge of her career, the Hambletonian Oaks eliminations slated for August 1.

Melander currently anticipates that he'll be entering four fillies for the Oaks, with the Del Miller Memorial winner Nezuko Kamado S, a daughter of Chapter Seven that has had no blips on her past performances this year, winning four consecutive stakes races in as many starts, leading the arsenal. Melander noted that Lainey W and Creator could join that pair as well in the Oaks.

Melander said he was looking for a colt or filly from the first crop of In Range when he came upon Setyoursightshigh in Lexington prior to the 2024 auction. "She was a very nice-looking, clean-going filly," said Melander.

On the pedigree side the maternal line for Setyoursightshigh had shown a presence in Melander's stable with Air Power, the 2023 New Jersey Classic champion, a very close relative to this year's filly standout. Air Power's dam Beyond Blue is a full sister to Setyoursightshigh's dam Special Interest. A closer look though the bloodlines reveal the 2004 Hambletonian Oaks champion Silver Springs.

Melander has four colts pointed towards the Hambletonian, with Apex leading the quartet that includes American Power, the Zweig Memorial champion and track record-holder at Vernon following his 1:50 score this past Sunday (July 19). Nix Nacken and Oak Grove Trotting Derby champion Spencer Hanover are also expected in the lineup, with the latter recently qualifying back for Melander at the Meadowlands following a pair of uncharacteristic breaks in stride.

In speaking of Spencer Hanover, Melander said, "He made a break at Yonkers in the Yonkers Trot, but he made breaks on the half-mile track last year, so that didn't concern me. I don't know why he made that break in the Dancer. I drove him in the qualifier (July 18) and he was fine. Maybe I'll have to drive him," laughed Melander at that notion.

Melander singled out Command Center, the Gimpanzee-sired half-brother to Apex purchased at Harrisburg last fall for $500,000, as his best 2-year-old to this point. Handled carefully in his first qualifier, Command Center was trotting at extreme speed when he broke stride in a qualifier at the Meadowlands on July 4. He returned on July 18 with a 1:56 4/5 victory, trotting a final quarter in 26 1/5.

"We're going to get him ready for Kentucky," said Melander of Command Center's likely pari-mutuel debut in August at The Red Mile.