Miami Valley: Doubles for Tony Hall, Ron Burke in Ohio Sires Stakes

It was day for favorites and lifetime marks as the first leg of Ohio Sires Stakes action ended at Miami Valley Raceway.

Four divisions for colts and geldings, two for trotters and two for pacers, each racing for $55,000, saw three of the four favorites win. Two new lifetime marks were set by the winners, with one other tying his lifetime-best.

In the first flight of sophomore trotting males, Doo Wop Kid set a new lifetime mark, and he was the only non-favorite to win. The victory was the first in six starts this year for Doo Wop Kid and trainer Dalton Walls.

Starting from the rail, Tony Hall settled Doo Wop Kid in the pocket behind What The Blaze and Dan Noble. What the Blaze set fractions of 27, 57 1/5, and 1:25 4/5, only to see Doo Wop Kid make a move at the three-quarter pole and blow past the race leader.

Race favorite Rose Run Xtra and Chris Page tracked the leader down the stretch but could get no closer than a length as Doo Wop Kid won by a length and a quarter in 1:54 3/5. Gabby's Bit Coin finished third.

Doo Wop Kid paid $8.20 to win. The son of Wishing Stone is owned by Walls and Bruce Soulsby. Prior to today's $27,500 payday, the largest purse won by Doo Wop Kid was $5,000 from his maiden victory last year.

In the second split for trotters, Caviar Gold showed why he was the favorite. Aaron Merriman took the son of Triumphant Caviar to the point at the start but yielded the lead at the quarter pole to Motto and Tyler Smith in 28 2/5. Caviar Gold immediately retook the lead and never looked back, cruising to a 2 1/4 length victory in 1:54, paying $2.80 to win. Caviar Gold was the only winner not to set or tie a lifetime mark, missing by just a fifth of a second. Motto hung on for second, while Chulo finished third.

Trained by Chris Beaver, Caviar Gold is owned by Beaver, Bill Manes, Leo Fleming, and Steve Zeehandelar. Caviar Gold has won twice in three races this year and finished second in the other. He pushed his lifetime earnings to $146,500.

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In the first section for the pacing colts and geldings, Tony Hall picked up his second Sires Stakes win of the afternoon as he took the even-money favorite, Barry's Berries, to the lead and cruised to an eight length victory in 1:50 1/5. Seaside Way finished second, with Sling Shock finishing third.

Barry's Berries cut fractions of 27 2/5, 55 2/5, and 1:23 1/5 and finished with a final quarter of 27 seconds to win for the third time in four starts this year. He has now earned $62,500 in 2022. The son of Downbytheseaside is trained by Ron Burke and owned by Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi LLC., Knox Services, and J&T Silva- Purnel & Libby.

In the final OSS race of the first leg, Bythemissal and Chris Page waited until just past the half-mile pole to make their move. Page pulled with cover and rolled down the backstretch, going three-wide to grab the lead at the three-quarter mark in 1:23 2/5.

Bythemissal, by Downbytheseaside, cruised down the stretch to win by two lengths in 1:51 1/5, a new lifetime mark. Terminator finished second, with Risenshine Seaside finishing third. Bythemissal paid $3.20.

Bythemissal has won his three lifetime starts, two this year and one last year. The win was the second of the day for Burke. Bythemissal is owned by Burke Racing Stable, Eric Good, Rich Lombardo Racing, and Weaver Bruscemi.

--press release (OHHA)--