Hope's Frog Song makes Miss Southern Ohio first stakes win

The veteran campaigner Hope's Frog Song earned the first stakes victory of her career in Sunday's $75,000 Miss Southern Ohio Stakes for Ohio-bred fillies and mares at Belterra Park.

Hope's Frog Song, a 7-year-old Kentucky Dane mare who races as a homebred for Raymond Donald, had made 13 previous starts in stakes company. She finished second in the Vivacious Handicap at Belterra in 2015 and 2016, and third in last year's edition. She was also second in the 2015 Bobbie Bricker Memorial Handicap at Mahoning Valley and third in last year's Dr. T.F. Classen Memorial Stakes at Thistledown. Overall, the mare has now won 6 of 52 career starts for earnings of $249,603.

The multiple stakes winner Leona's Reward was sent away favored in the Miss Southern Ohio as she looked to get back in the win column following three consecutive third-place finishes in stakes. The mare chased the pace set by Birdacious, and had forged her way to a half-length lead through six furlongs in 1:09.71.

But Hope's Frog Song ($12.20), with Deshawn Parker in the irons for trainer Ivan Vazquez, had been stalking the pace in fourth and rallied strongly to come alongside the favorite, edging to the lead in upper stretch and powering clear to win by 1 3/4 lengths.

The final time for the 1 1/16 miles on the turf was 1:41.44.

Leona's Reward was second by five lengths over Birdacious.