Guns A Brazen Steps To The Head Of The Class
![Horses on the track at Fowlerville, Mich.](/sites/default/files/styles/headline_image_1024_x_577/public/2024-08/Fowlerville-Michigan-Fair-Racing-1024px.jpg?itok=rT6pZ1RS)
Guns A Brazen stamped himself as the season's leading Michigan-sired three-year-old male trotter when he handed Kaa Dee Archie his first defeat on the Michigan fair harness racing circuit in the $15,274 Michigan Colt Stakes event on Saturday, Aug. 10 at the Midland (Mich.) County Fair.
Through the first six weeks of the season, Guns A Brazen and Kaa Dee Archie had managed to avoid each other by drawing into separate divisions, and they both maintained undefeated seasonal records on the circuit, with Guns A Brazen winning all six of his starts and Kaa Dee Archie taking all five.
In their meeting at Midland, Guns A Brazen and trainer-driver Raymond Kinney floated into fourth from his back-row starting spot as Inkadabra Abe and T L Waldo dueled through first-half fractions of :31.1 and 1:00.3. Heading to the midway point, Kinney angled Guns A Brazen three-wide, and he vaulted around dueling leaders with ease and power to build up an eight-length lead at three-quarters in 1:30.1. From there, the Brazen-Premier Glitter gelding was never in doubt, speeding away from Kaa Dee Archie — who similarly swept three-wide into second on the backstretch — to win by 11-3/4 lengths in 2:01.3. Smashingoodmatch closed for third.
Sandra Kinney and Chad and Jared Kreeger own Guns A Brazen, who is now seven-for-seven this season.
Driver Brad Kramer took three Colt Stakes events on Saturday's nine-race card after also tripling on Friday (Aug. 9). He won the $9,950 two-year-old filly pace with Brett Boyd trainee Myheaertfromtestart in 2:05.2; and he then teamed up with trainer Kelly Goodwin to sweep the sophomore paces, steering Forever A Flirt to a 2:01.3 win in the $11,100 filly division and Kourageous Key to a 2:00 score in the $11,000 split for colts and geldings.
Kramer's Friday hat trick included a pair of Colt Stakes Green Division wins for trainer Paul Cloer Jr.: Taylor Dawn won the $5,000 freshman filly pace in 2:09, and Topinabee narrowly edged Man Of Time in 2:08.4 in the $5,000 male pace.
The Michigan fair harness racing circuit moves to Charlotte, Mich., on Monday (Aug. 12); the 17-race card is slated to begin at 12 noon.
(Michigan Harness Horsemen's Association)