Northville Downs: Michigan Sire Stakes finals held for 2-year-olds
Michigan Sire Stakes finals are taking place this weekend at Northville Downs, and the 2-year-olds kicked things off with their championships on Friday night at the Detroit-area half-mile track.
Filly pacers went for a purse of $111,918 in a non-wagering tilt, and Grey Lingerie (Rick Dobson) would win by 2 3/4 lengths in a lifetime-best 2:02 4/5 after she led through panels of 28 2/5, 58 4/5 and 1:30. Blazingmachine (Ryan Ver Hage) and Nina Quit Smokin (Tim Roach) were second and third, respectively.
A daughter of Western Thorn-Its A Sham bred by Libby Myers, Grey Lingerie is trained by Monica Krist for co-owners Teresa Marotta, Rick Dobson, and Melissa Kesler. Grey Lingerie won for the fifth time in seven starts and has now pocketed $88,608.
Colt and gelding pacers also competed in a non-betting race worth $110,118. Two Birds Onestone, driven by owner/trainer Carl Putnam Jr., clicked off fractions of 30, 1:00 3/5, and 1:30 2/5, then used a 29 1/5 last quarter to defeat He's A Knockout (Art McIlmurray) by 3 3/4 lengths in 1:59 3/5. Haste Make Waste (Roach) took third.
Bred by Brian Boring and Jennifer Vollmer, the victorious Black Daniels-She B Jeebeez gelding now sports a perfect eight-for-eight record and a bankroll of $102,901.
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Trotting fillies began the pari-mutuel program in their $92,094 clash, and Cody's Deal (Kim Pluta) went three-wide from second-over heading to the 1:31 4/5 three-quarters and took command prior to that station. From there, she dug in and fended off Krystals Jewel (John Moody) to get the victory by half a length in 2:02 2/5, with Miss Sparty Mar (Skip De Mull) up for third.
Cody's Deal is a Do The Deal-Cody's Revenge filly bred by Jonas Schwartz and trained by Pluta for owner Kathy Todd. Cody's Deal has been victorious in half of her eight appearances, boosted her earnings to $62,847, and paid $12.80 to win as the 5-1 third choice.
Chapter Twenty One (Tim Driver) minded his manners in the $113,918 colt and gelding trot final, and that was key, as five of the seven horses made breaks. He posted splits of 31 2/5, 1:03 4/5, and 1:35 2/5, took advantage of a miscue by a challenging Timeout Fitz (Charles Taylor) before three-quarters, and widened from there to score by 4 3/4 lengths in 2:07 1/5. Smash The Rail (Scott Altizer) overcame an early break to take runner-up honors, and Paragon Sketter (Phil Peden) rounded out the top three.
Driver also owns and trains Chapter Twenty One, a Fitzmagic-La'sent colt bred by Libby Myers. Chapter Twenty One made his fifth appearance in the winner's circle from eight trips behind the gate, has now stashed away $84,592, and returned $5.20 to win.