Thursday afternoon at the Delaware, Ohio County Fairgrounds.
The victory by the son of The Panderosa for owners Mark Maynard, Kelly O’Donnell and C. Ed Mullinax, was very popular among the Ohio faithful.
As the $307,277 Jug final got underway, Rocknroll Hanover (Brian Sears) was sent out of the five hole to take control of the field of nine. Roddy’s Bags Again (Luc Ouellette) was parked at the :26 2/5 and :55 1/5 stations. Village Jolt (Ron Pierce) was forced to go three-wide down the backstretch to pass the tiring Roddy’s Bags Again and thus appeared to lock P Forty Seven on the rail. Palone was able to get out of the hole after the three-quarters in 1:24 and cleared Village Jolt in the last eighth of a mile to secure a ¾ length victory in 1:52 1/5.
“I came up with five different strategies (for the final), but that (mile) wasn’t one of them,” noted Palone. “I couldn’t win for nicer people. They (O’Donnell and Mullinax) are my best buddies. Delaware, Ohio has been great to me.”
In his elimination heat, P Forty Seven (Dave Palone) and Rocknroll Hanover (Brian Sears) staged an epic battle. Sears sent Rocknroll Hanover hard out of the six hole and cleared the field by the 1/8 mile pole. Sears tried to slow the pace at the quarter pole, jamming up the field behind, forcing P Forty Seven off the rail and into the first over position. Rocknroll Hanover and P Forty Seven raced side by side through the :55 half and the 1:22 4/5 three-quarters. Climb The Ladder (Richard Silverman) joined the chase at the top of the lane, but P Forty Seven would not be denied a ½ length victory in 1:53 4/5.
In the first elimination, Ron Pierce sent Village Jolt out quickly to take command of the six horse field. The Cam’s Card Shark colt set the fractions of :27 1/5, :56 3/5 and 1:25. Village Jolt turned back the first over challenge by Beretta Hall (Daniel Martin) and cruised to a 1 ¾ length victory in 1:53 1/5. Dreamfair Kogel came out of the two hole to take the place spot. Up Front Jerry (Dave Palone) was third.
The second $68,284 elimination was a speed duel from the word “go.” Roddy’s Bags Again (Luc Ouellette), Jo Pa’s Shark (George Brennan) and Allamerican Inca (Mike Lachance) went three-wide into the first turn. Jo Pa’s Shark and Allamerican Inca went nose to nose through a :26 first quarter and a half in :53 2/5. Roddy’s Bags Again and Cam’s Fool (Brian Sears) looked to benefit from the wicked pace, but Up Front Tornado (Dave Palone) found room on the outside to nip Cam’s Fool by a head in 1:53 3/5.
At the completion of the final heat, ninth place finisher, Dreamfair Kogel (Rick Zeron) fell near the paddock and was pronounced dead at the scene. The Rustler Hanover colt was sent to Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital for an autopsy.
Bare It All Takes $106,190 Old Oaken Bucket
Christopher Beaver and David Lang’s Bare It All survived a tough first over trip to score a 1 1/2 length victory in the Old Oaken Bucket.
Ron Pierce eased the sophomore son of Sierra Kosmos off the gate, sitting third behind Keaton Zet (David Miller) and Lonestar Kosmos (Dave Palone) through the opening panel of :28 2/5. The eventual winner was the first to come to the outside before the :58 3/5 half. Keaton Zet and Bare It All trotted in tandom past the ¾ pole in 1:27 4/5. Bare It All had enough gas left in the tank to edge Lonestar Kosmos and Garth Vader (Douglas J. Ackerman) in 1:59.
With the victory Bare It All improved his career earnings to $137,698.
Timesareachanging, Maltese Artist Win Magical Mike Divisions
Timesareachanging, who won the 2004 Little Brown Jug, returned to the Delaware County Fairgrounds Thursday afternoon to capture the first division of the $126,400 Magical Mike Pace. Timesareachanging became the first winner of the Little Brown Jug to capture the Magical Mike.
Driven by Hall of Famer Ron Pierce, Timesareachanging set a slow pace to the half, then opened up by three lengths in the final turn to turn back Life Sizzles (Brian Sears) and Scott Is A Leader (Luc Oulette) by open lengths in 1:53, quite a bit slower than his 1:51.3 final heat victory in the 2004 Jug.
Pierce said in the winners circle that the race went according to plan. “At the three-quarters I just yelled at him and he took off.”
Brett Pelling trains the 4-year-old gelded son of Cam’s Card Shark for the Perfect World Enterprises of Old Westbury, NY. Timesareachanging picked up his first win in 10 starts this season and hiked his career bankroll to $1,398,539.
Maltese Artist captured the second division of the Magical Mike in 1:52 in a driving finish over Ponder (Jack Moiseyev) and He Wants It All (Tony Morgan). Trained by Michael Burke, the 4-year-old Artiscape gelding led from start to finish for driver Brian Sears. The victory was Maltese Artist’s ninth of the season and sent his earnings past $676,000.
Trio of divisions contested in $67,512 Standardbred two-year-old colt pace
There were three divisions of the Standardbred for freshman colt pacers contested on Thursday, with each carrying a purse of $22,504.
George Leon’s Sandro Hanover took the opening division with a five and three-quarter length victory in a time of 1:54.1. Brian Sears was in the sulky as the Western Hanover juvenile won for the sixth time in 12 season’s starts, improving his earnings to $94,455. Western Nitro (Ron Pierce) was second and Amber Fella (Michel Lachance) finished third.
In the second division, Bill Sanders’ Sand Gogh (Ron Pierce) came flying up the stretch to nip AB’s Beach Boy (John Campbell) by a neck in a lifetime best 1:54.3. Born Again Dragon (Luc Ouellette) was third. The victory was the second in eight lifetime starts for the Tye Loy-trained son of Real Artist. He has now earned $25,948 in ’05.
In the third and final edition, George Leon was back in the winner’s circle as his colt True North Hanover was a wire-to-wire winner in a time of 1:57. The son of The Panderosa was victorious for the second time in ten season’s starts, lifting his bankroll to $37,474. Rock N Roll Star (Luc Ouellette) finished second, one length behind the winner, while Holy Moses (Dave Palone) was third.
Pair of splits in $57,610 Standardbred freshman filly pace
Delaware also hosted two $28,805 divisions in the Standardbred for two-year-old filly pacers.
James Koehler, William Robinson and Jennifer Brown’s Rosa Villa was a front-stepping winner in the first split in a lifetime best clocking of 1:55.3. David Miller was in the bike for trainer Brian Brown as The Panderosa lass held off Western Heat (Luc Ouellette) by a neck. Doinit Dragonstyle (Eric Ledford) was third. The victory was the third in seven lifetime starts for Rosa Villa, who has now banked $46,373.
Trainer Brian Brown and driver David Miller swept the Standardbred filly pace when the second division was captured by Dan and Sherry Russo and Jeffrey Mills’ Parallel Parked in a blanket four horse finish in a time of 1:59. The Jenna’s Beach Boy miss was victorious for the second time in nine trips to the post, while her share of the purse hiked her lifetime earnings to $15,421. Parallel Parked nipped Caviart Sydney (Kyle Ater) by a half length. Maremma Hanover (Mike Wilder) edged out Irene Hall (Ron Pierce) for third.
OBC Sophomore Paces Held
Imawhiner (Keith Kash) and My Awesome Babe (David Miller) won divisions of the $59,052 Ohio Breeders Championship 3YO Filly Pace. Noble Jet (Jim Dailey), Goodnite Buddy (Mike Wilder) and Im A Noble Two (Kyle Ater) captured divisions of the $68,103 OBC 3YO Colt Pace.
