The opener at Hawthorne on Thursday night saw a first as trainer Nicole Agosti recorded her first career victory. The 26-year-old Agosti sent out Red Red Redneck for owners David and Adam Brooks to an upset victory in race one as driver Kyle Wilfong was able to squeeze through along the inside late for the score.

The win came in career start number six for Agosti as she had previously sent out starters at Hoosier Park, along with Red Red Redneck debuting for her last week at Hawthorne. Coming from a racing background, Agosti’s parents worked with Standardbred horses from the time Nicole was very young. The family transitioned to thoroughbreds for a ten year stretch when Nicole was five-years-old before moving back to the Standardbred industry.

The Buffalo, New York native is known for her hard working nature as she has worked tirelessly for the Brett Wilfong stable since 2012. At that time she met driver Kyle Wilfong and the two have been together since.

Red Red Redneck came to Agosti from trainer David Brooks as she stated, “I’ve been fortunate to help David on and off over the course of the last year. David wanted to try something different with Red Red Redneck and sent him to me with the hopes that a change of scenery would turn things around for him. Sometimes horses get complacent when they’ve been in the same spot and routine for a while. Red Red Redneck responded really well tonight and showed a lot of heart.”

(Hawthorne Racecourse)