Its Academic marched to the front and never looked back en route to defeating even-money favourite Mission Accepted in Thursday’s $135,000 Charlie Hill Memorial Trot at Scioto Downs.
With Yannick Gingras at the helm, Its Academic swept to the position of command from Post 2 and had the field chasing him through first-half fractions of :28 and :56. Stablemate Mission Accepted, who was treated to a two-hole trip, popped to the outside late in the mile and was a length in arrears as Its Academic blazed by the three-quarter pole in 1:25. The leader then used a :27.3 final frame to win by a pair of lengths over Mission Accepted in 1:52.3. Majestic Player A was third.
Ron Burke trains the four-year-old son of Uncle Peter-Annapolis for owner Brad Grant of Milton, Ont. The trotter, who now has a pair of wins and a third-place finish on his resume since departing the stable of Ontario-based conditioner Richard Moreau, is a 16-time winner with earnings in excess of $570,000.
Gold Digger King upset Century Farroh later on the same card in a $30,000 Open Pace.
Tyler Smith made the early lead with Gold Digger King and together they led the group past the opening quarter in :27.2. Century Farroh laid parked out through the first panel, but brushed to the lead before chopping out middle fractions of :55.4 and 1:24.2. Gold Digger King used a :27.1 closing quarter to out-sprint Century Farroh to the finish line in 1:52. Century Farroh was a mere half-length margin in arrears of the winner, while The Wild Card rallied late to pick up third.