Sweet Valorie Scores Second Seasonal BSS Win to Highlight Second Leg at Bucyrus

By Wes Mayberry

Sweet Valorie scored her second Buckeye Stallion Series win of the season on Wednesday (July 22) as the Crawford County Fair in Bucyrus, Ohio, hosted seven $20,000 divisions of the second leg for freshman filly trotters.

Through two legs, Sweet Valorie is the lone freshman filly trotter with multiple BSS victories. She won Wednesday’s fifth division by three and a quarter lengths in 2:04.1 with Chris Lems driving for trainer Karen Fread, who co-owns with Jan Fread. The Volstead filly led gate to wire, posting fractions of :31.3, 1:02.4, and 1:34, and has now hit the board in all three seasonal starts with two wins and one second and earnings of $23,000. Her lifetime mark of 1:58.1 came in the first leg of the BSS on July 14 at Eldorado Scioto Downs. Aunt Jessie (Leroy Eicher) and Range Queen (Bryce Brocklehurst) rounded out the top three in the fifth division.

Guardian Queen (Emanuel Miller) recorded the fastest mile of Wednesday’s BSS races, winning the first division in gate-to-wire fashion in 2:00.2. The Guardian Angel As filly posted fractions of :30, :59.4, and 1:29.3 en route to winning by five and three-quarters lengths with Dd Silver Dollar (Sam Widger) and Angel L (Hank LeVan) rounding out the top three. Guardian Queen is trained by Herman Hagerman for owner Hagerman Racing. She has two wins and one third along with $14,230 in earnings in four seasonal starts.

Indigo Times scored her first career victory, winning the second division in 2:01 with trainer Kayne Kauffman in the sulky. The In Range filly is owned by Parkview Stables, Redracer, Redline Racing Stables, and David Van Dusen. Shinie T (Chris Beaver) led the field past the first three calls in :30.4, :59.4, and 1:30. Indigo Times was in third place and trailed the leader by more than five lengths at the halfway mark before rallying to win by half a length. Shinie T was second followed by Lindy’s Moni (Russell Swartz) in third.

Lady Martinique (Kauffman) took the third division by three-quarters of a length in 2:03 for trainer Peter Foley and owner Lynne Foley. The Marseille filly led gate to wire with fractions of :30, 1:01.2, and 1:32.2 en route to her first career victory. Center Field Lady (Ronnie Gillespie) and Just Gee (Clifton Bell) rounded out the top three. Lady Martinique has hit the board in three of five seasonal starts, banking $13,285.

Dublins Tessa (Bell) won the fourth division in gate-to-wire fashion in 2:04.3. The Volstead filly recorded fractions of :32.1, 1:03, and 1:34 in what was her first career win. Lavish Reign (Brocklehurst) was second followed by Alleluia (Gillespie) in third. Dublins Tessa led by seven lengths at the three-quarter pole before Lavish Reign closed the gap to two and a half lengths at the finish. Dublins Tessa is trained by Beaver, who co-owns the filly with Joe Sbrocco, Bill Manes, and Leo Fleming. She has $12,191 in seasonal earnings.

Wishinghallofchina (Widger) led gate to wire with fractions of :30.1, :59.1, and 1:30.4 en route to winning the sixth division by three and a half lengths in a lifetime-best 2:01.2. The Enterprise filly is trained by Randy Rank, who co-owns with Roger Huard. She has now hit the board in all five seasonal starts with two wins, two seconds, and one third to go with $18,148 in earnings. Shes In My Range (Gillespie) was second followed by Betterbehoppin (Miller) in third.

The seventh division went to Rollin Range (Gillespie) in 2:04.1. It was the first career win for the In Range filly, increasing her earnings to $12,651. She is trained by Deborah Swartz for owners Matt Rowe, Adam Friedland, Brian Carsey, and Thomas Adams. Rollin Range was in fourth place and trailed leader Dun Cashed It (Pierce Henry) by two lengths at the three-quarter pole before winning by three-quarters of a length over Queen Mira (Lavern Hostetler). Hills Of Glory (Miller) finished third.

The Buckeye Stallion Series continues Thursday (July 23) with the second leg for freshman colt trotters and first leg for freshman filly pacers at Scioto Downs.

Elsewhere on Wednesday’s 15-race card in Bucyrus, Fired Up Henry L recorded the fastest mile of the day, winning race eight by seven and three-quarters lengths in 1:56 with LeVan as trainer and driver. The 2-year-old Catch The Fire gelded pacer is owned by LeVan Stables and Megan LeVan. Hank LeVan finished as the top driver and trainer in the card with four wins in each capacity. Other drivers with multiple victories included Widger with three and Kauffman with two. Rosy Weaver joined LeVan with multiple training wins, scoring two.

The two-day Crawford County Fair meet concludes Thursday (July 23) with a 12-race card starting at 6 p.m. The races will be live streamed on the OHHA YouTube channel.