Three Indiana horses made it to the winner’s circle Wednesday, Dec. 21 at Dayton Raceway led by an impressive performance from Country Girl Charm. Driven by LeWayne Miller, the Indiana sired trotter was strong in the higher conditioned trot going for a purse of $6,000.
Country Girl Charm and LeWayne Miller are greeted in the winner’s circle by Trainer Susan Miller Wed. Dec. 21 at Dayton Raceway following their first win of 2022.
Country Girl Charm began her race from post one, but both the two and the three, Lightning Frenzy and Jess Believe were quicker out of the gate. It took a few strides for Country Girl Charm to get into gear before advancing to retain her position on the inside. After Jess Believe made a break in the first turn, it opened up a hole behind Country Girl Charm for Team L and Hank LeVan to settle in before the quarter in :28.0.
Country Girl Charm had a good hold on the top spot heading past the grandstand the first time and was leading by open lengths under a firm hold by Miller. She was still well in hand through the half in :57.3 and three-quarters in 1:27.1. Around the final turn Team L began to tire and pushed the inside horses back with Real Diamonds K and Brandon Bates taking advantage to shake loose from the field and challenge.
In the stretch, Country Girl Charm opened up even more on the field to score the win by five and three-quarter lengths in 1:56.2, a final quarter in :29.1. Real Diamonds K, another Indiana sired trotter by Encore Encore, finished second over SM Count on Me and Jeremy Smith for third.
Country Girl Charm was the favorite of the field, paying $3.00 for the win. The Whom Shall I Fear four-year-old mare is trained by Susan Miller and owned by Ryan Raber, L & S Racing, D & S Stable and JW Stable all of Indiana. Daniel Frey Jr. bred the mare, who earned her first win of 2022 in 14 starts. To date, she has nine wins in 37 outings with more than $322,000 on her card. She was a strong two-year-old on the Indiana circuit, winning five of eight starts. The one time Indiana Sires Stakes contender returned at three to take her career best time of 1:54.2 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. She has numerous Indiana Sires Stakes preliminary wins to her credit at both two and three.
Country Girl Charm is from the second crop by Whom Shall I Fear. She was a $6,000 purchase from the Hoosier Classic Yearling Sale. To date, she is the richest foal from Whom Shall I Fear, whose last crop was born in 2020. He has five foals with six figures on his card.
Other winners on the day from Indiana included Call Me Mr Flash and Josh Sutton, who endured a parked out mile the entire way to win by a half length in 1:55.3. Trained by Katie Dircksen, the six-year-old Shadyshark Hanover gelding is owned by Stephen Fowble, who also bred him.
The other Indiana winner on the day was Northern Miss JoJo from the Pat Melloy Jr. Stable. Also driven by Melloy, the four-year-old daughter of Time to Roll traveled first over during the second half to win by a neck in 1:53.0. She is owned by Lisa Gosselin and was bred by Northern Lane Farm. It was her second win of the year and the mile was a new lifetime mark for Northern Miss JoJo, who is a full sister to the standout pacer Northern Cadilac, who has a mark of 1:50.1 and more than $170,000 in earnings and is still racing. The family also includes Northern Rocknroll, a daughter of Rockin Image with a mark of 1:52.4 and $221,000 in earnings. Northern Lei Ann was an Indiana Sires Stakes contender and made more than $200,000 during her career with 14 wins and a mark of 1:52.1.