Scioto: Pet Project rolling going into rescheduled Ohio Sires Stakes leg

After a somewhat inauspicious start to the season, Pet Project is on a roll.

“Everything has been working his way,” said trainer Kim Dailey, who co-owns Pet Project with Jr Stable LLP of Orient, Ohio. “He’s come a long way, and he continues to get better with each start.”

The Pet Rock gelding out of Igottafeelinfran finished fifth in his debut purse start on June 28 and third in the opening leg of the Ohio Sires Stakes at MGM Northfield Park. But it’s been nothing but wins ever since for the homebred.

“He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do so far,” Dailey said. “He’s a nice one, and I hope he stays that way.”

After notching a victory in the Ohio State Fair Stakes at Eldorado Scioto Downs on Aug. 2, Pet Project added wins in the third leg of the OSS at Northfield in 1:53 3/5 and fourth leg at Scioto in a lifetime-best 1:52 1/5. He’ll look to make it four straight victories on Saturday (Aug. 30) as Scioto hosts another leg of the OSS. The three $50,000 divisions comprise the second leg for freshman colt pacers, which was rescheduled from July 26 due to inclement weather that evening. Other than condensing the schedule a bit, that postponement has had little impact on Pet Project’s performance, Dailey said. He leads the OSS 2-year-old colt pace standings with 115 points and is the 9-5 morning line favorite in the third division on Saturday. Trevor Smith, who has driven Pet Project all season, returns to the sulky.

“Trevor has been really good with him,” Dailey said. “The two get along really well, and Trevor has taken care of him, which is what I like.”

While the combo of Smith and Pet Project has had lots of success lately, extending that winning streak may not come easy. Fellow two-time OSS winner Gentleman’s Club is also in the third division and opened as the 2-1 second choice. Driven by Aaron Merriman, the Aaron Lambert trainee will leave from post two, while Pet Project drew post six. Gentleman’s Club has three wins in four starts this season, including OSS victories in the opening leg in 1:54 3/5 and fourth leg in a lifetime-best 1:51 4/5. Owned by Anthony Licastro of Australia, the Downbytheseaside colt is not far behind Pet Project in the standings, sitting second with 103 points. Third-place Lindy Dragonwater, a two-time BSS winner with 102 points, is not entered in this leg, meaning Pet Project and Gentleman’s Club will be vying to create even greater separation from the rest of the contenders as they go head-to-head on Saturday.

“They’re both nice horses,” Dailey said. “It’s going to be a good race. It’ll be interesting to see how it unfolds.”

Elsewhere, third-leg winners Crocodile Station (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) and When Is Parade (Chris Page) face off in the first division as the 7-5 morning line favorite and 3-1 second choice, respectively. Crocodile Station has two wins in five seasonal starts with his third-leg victory coming in 1:53 2/5. He also won a division in the Ohio State Fair Stakes in 1:52 3/5. The Downbytheseaside gelding is trained by Michael Hitchcock. Summa Cum Laude colt When Is Parade has hit the board in all five starts this season with two wins, one second, and two thirds. The Ron Burke trainee posted a lifetime-best 1:53 2/5 in his third-leg victory.

The second division features a pair of first-leg winners in Summa Cum Laude geldings I’llbetyourboots (Page) and Swelce (Mike Wilder). I’llbetyourboots opened as the even-money favorite. Trained by Burke, he has won three of six seasonal starts, including the Next Generation at Scioto in a lifetime-best 1:52 and an OSS race in 1:54, and has $111,460 in earnings. Swelce is the 3-1 second choice and will leave from the far outside. The Jeff Nisonger trainee has hit the board in six of seven starts this season. After posting a victory in the opening leg of the OSS in a lifetime-best 1:55, he placed third in the third leg and second in the fourth leg.

The Ohio Sires Stakes for freshman colt pacers is part of a 16-race card at Eldorado Scioto Downs on Saturday that also includes four $100,000 divisions of the OSS Veterans Championships for Ohio-sired horses who are at least 4 years old. First-race post time is 5:45 p.m.

-edited release (OHHA)