On Tuesday (June 21) at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel, four-year-old trotters and pacers strutted their stuff over the Bluegrass oval in the $50,000 second leg of the Kentucky-Bred Series.

Winners Kildare King, Blue Diamond Eyes, Komodo Beach and Beltassima delivered on an exceptionally hot day. 

Kildare King (Yannick Gingras) triumphed in gate-to-wire fashion in the first contest, a non-wagering event, over his stablemate Flemsteen (Andrew McCarthy). Mon Amour (Scott Zeron) was third. 

A son of Trixton-Exclusivity, Kildare King has now earned more than $135,000 in his career for owner/breeder Robert Goodman of Lexington, Kentucky. The gelding is trained by Chris Beaver and tripped the timer in 1:53.3.

Track record holder Blue Diamond Eyes (Gingras) illustrated her affinity for the five-eighths track by taking things in her own hooves at the start. The defending Kentucky champion led at every pole to record a victory in 1:50.1 over Classicist (McCarthy) and High Minded (Zeron) as the heavy favourite in the first race.

Blue Diamond Eyes is trained by Hall of Famer Ron Burke. The daughter of Captaintreacherous-Aria Hanover now has collected more than $1.2 million in purse money for owners Thomas and Scott Dillion. 

Komodo Beach (McCarthy) sailed to the wire winning his $50,000 leg over Mad Man Hill (Todd Warren) and Caviart Lotus (Tony Hall) in 1:49. 

Komodo Beach is trained by Edward Gannon Jr, owned by Morrison Stables and was bred by Lindy Farms of Connecticut. 

The heat did not slow down Beltassima (McCarthy), who was a six-length winner in 1:53 over Zoe Deo (James Stiltner), with Shenzi As (Warren) inheriting third.

The daughter of Trixton-Beltane Hanover improved her 2021 record to two-for-two with her pilot confidently holding the lines. Last year’s New Jersey Sire Stakes champion was second in the $250,000 Kentucky Championship Series final last year. Beltassima is approaching the $400,000 mark in purse money. She is trained by Tony Alagna, owned by Crawford Farms and was bred by D Farms of Hustonville, Pennsylvania.

The $50,000 third and fourth legs of the four-year-old series take place on June 28 and July 12. The $150,000 final is scheduled for July 19. 

(With files from Kentucky Harness Association)