Scioto: Doo Wop Hanover wins Ewart; Ronnie Wrenn has big night

Ohio Super Night at Scioto Downs on Saturday belonged to driver Ronnie Wrenn, Jr as the 29-year-old won five races and posted an upset with Doo Wop Hanover in the $225,000 Jim Ewart Memorial. Wrenn took home three rich purses by also winning two of the eight $225,000 championship finals for 2- and 3-year-olds of both gaits and sexes.

Doo Wop Hanover had been chasing the red hot State Treasurer in recent weeks but took the bull by the horns on Saturday. Wrenn gunned the 4-year-old Steve Elliott trainee to the front and clocked solid fractions of 26 1/5, 54 2/5 and 1:21 2/5.

Limelight Beach pulled from third to make a brief failed attempt on the backstretch with State Treasurer following that escort. Looking for his fifth straight win, State Treasurer tried to pounce off cover and All Bets Off took aim from the pocket, but neither possessed a powerful stretch rally through the 28-second final quarter.

All Bets Off was second in the 1:49 2/5 mile ahead of State Treasurer.

“He’s a nice horse; probably one of the nicest I ever drove. He was tough tonight,” said Wrenn of the winner, who is owned by Peter Blood and Rick Berks.

Doo Wop Hanover ($12.80) won for the seventh time in 15 starts and increased his current year earnings to $447,022.

Wrenn‘s two Sire Stakes finals on the 17-race card came with a favorite and a longshot. In the 3-year-old filly trotting championship he guided 1-2 favorite Like Old Times to a 3-1/4 length win in 1:57 2/5. Later he would score at 6-1 in the sophomore pacing colt division with Rock N Randall in 1:55.

Although State Treasurer didn’t get the job done, driver David Miller made the most of his homecoming trip to Ohio with a pair of victories in Sire Stakes Championship races.

In a wild 2-year-old pacing colt championship, Miller came from out of the pack to post a 5-1 upset with Love Tap Hanover for trainer Virgil Morgan, Jr. Later he would guide Karlee Sue to a gutsy first-over score in the 3-year-old filly pacing championship. Sent off at even money, the Al Tomlinson-trained young lady won in 1:54 3/5.

MJB Got Faith kept his perfect career record intact by besting the formerly unbeaten Kanthaka in the 2-year-old colt trotting championship. Peter Wrenn sat the pocket with the Steve Carter trainee and edged clear in 1:58 3/5 to move to 5-for-5 in his career.

Other Sire Stakes champions were:

Count On Kami (2YO Filly Trot) in 1:58 1/5

Miss Me Yet (2YO Filly Pace) in 1:54 3/5

I Know My Chip (3YO Colt Trot) in 1:56 3/5

Kicking off the stakes action was older trotter Wind Of The North with a game 1:53 2/5 victory over Gural Hanover in the $100,000 Chip Noble III Memorial. Dave Palone drove the 5-year-old Daryl Bier-trained gelding.