Steve Carter trainee Papi Grad, in the face of a far-turn blitz, remained resolute and rebuffed first-over challenger Looksgoodinloulou to coast to a 1:51 victory in the second of four divisions of the $418,919 Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Filly Pace on Thursday afternoon (Sept. 26) at The Red Mile.

Leaving from post six, driver Dexter Dunn floated Papi Grad forward to grab the helm from Faze (driven by Tim Tetrick) passing a :27.4 first quarter. She strolled up the backside to a :56.1 half while her peers tracking plotted their move against the 1-2 favourite. Looksgoodinloulou (Yannick Gingras) flirted with a move off the cones until no bait flushed, so Gingras launched her forward and quickly advanced to look Papi Grad in the eye through the final turn. The pair spun off three-quarters in 1:24.1 in tandem and remained toe to toe until Looksgoodinloulou began to waver nearing the final eighth. Papi Grad held her ground to the inside and easily thwarted her rival’s push, crossing the line 1-3/4 lengths better than Looksgoodinloulou in a lifetime-best effort. Faze gave chase for third and Au Jus Hanover (Andy McCarthy) saved ground for fourth.

“We’ve been very, very lucky to have a filly like this,” co-owner Jay Mossbarger said after the race. “She’s been good from the start – one of those kind that always did everything right. We’ve got one more start left here and we’re probably going to shut her down. We’ve had enough starts for her this year.”

Never missing the board from nine starts and now a six-time winner, Papi Grad added to a bankroll now worth $410,549 for owners Brent Hopper, Jay Mossbarger, TKO Racing Stable LLC and SCP Stable & Friedland Racing. The filly by Papi Rob Hanover returned $3.18 to win. 

Rodeo Drive Deo (David Miller) delivered as the 6-5 chalk in the first division of the Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Filly Pace with a golden tow to a 1:51 win. 

David Miller settled Rodeo Drive Deo into fifth as Accede (Yannick Gingras) slid from post six to the top through a :28.1 first quarter. She soon settled for a pocket trip when Bytheliteofthemoon (Dexter Dunn) circled from second to take the lead and up the tempo as the field moved for a :55.4 half. Rodeo Drive Deo tipped from the pylons and caught cover to follow from 12-1 Simply Perfect (Todd McCarthy), but lost ground on her cover rounding the final turn.

Simply Perfect zoomed forward, disposed of Bytheliteofthemoon after three-quarters in 1:23.3 and spun for home on a wide lead as Rodeo Drive Deo began shifting gears to the center of the track. With each stride, Rodeo Drive Deo shifted gears and vaulted forward to zip by Simply Perfect in the last sixteenth and win by two lengths. Simply Perfect held second as Beckoning Yankee (Andy McCarthy) closed ground but just missed in third. Accede circumvented the tiring Bytheliteofthemoon and finished a level fourth. 

A daughter of Captaintreacherous, Rodeo Drive Deo has now won two times from six starts and banked $201,586 for owners Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, Beasty LLC and J & T Silva—Purnel & Libby. She paid $4.54 to win. 

Miki And Minnie (Dexter Dunn) methodically pounced from a second-over ride to a 1:51 win as the 1-5 favourite in the third division of the Bluegrass filly pace. 

Away fourth to a :28 first quarter, Miki And Minnie stayed in position as Sweet Ballad (Yannick Gingras) soon traded the lead for a pocket ride to Champagne Room (Andy McCarthy) moving for a :55.2 half. Dunn looked to tip cover for Miki And Minnie, flushed a ride from Sammy Jo Hanover (Tim Tetrick) heading for the final turn and perched into a striking position heading to three-quarters in 1:23.2. Dunn sprung Miki And Minnie off the helmet turning for home and spurted away as Duration (Todd McCarthy) made inroads from a third-over trip to snag second, beaten a length. Champagne Room held third another five lengths behind and Sammy Jo Hanover settled for fourth. 

“She’s getting plenty of wins and is just a good girl,” trainer Chris Ryder said after the race. He then said he’s undecided on whether Miki And Minnie will race next week in the International Stallion Stakes at The Red Mile, but confirmed she is bound for the Breeders Crown.

Winning her fourth race from eight starts, Miki And Minnie has earned $483,991 for owner-breeders Craig Henderson, Robert Mondillo and Lawrence Minowitz. The daughter of Always B Miki paid $2.52 to win.

Odds-on choice Unreasonable (Scott Zeron) ripped home in the final Bluegrass division to notch a 1:51 victory.

Unreasonable raced fourth as Shes A Streaker (Yannick Gingras) carved an early clip of :28 and :55.2, but she received reminders around the final turn as Ronstadt (Todd McCarthy) waited anxiously from a tightening pocket. Ronstadt slipped from the pylons to the outside heading to three-quarters in 1:23.2, giving Unreasonable a helmet to track rounding for home. Zeron then sent the Huntsville filly down the center of the track and seized the lead from a stubborn Shes A Streaker to then hold off a late ground-saving bid by Calamity Hour (Dexter Dunn) by three-quarter lengths. Shes A Streaker lost the photo in the last stride and settled for third while Ronstadt finished an even fourth.

“She’s a really nice filly [and] has a great attitude for a Huntsville,” trainer Erv Miller said after the race. “Most of them get a little carried away with wanting to go too much at the wrong time. We’ve worked on her hard from the start but she’s really manageable and does whatever we want.”

Miller trains Unreasonable for his Ervin Miller Stable Inc. and David J. Miller. She won her third race from seven starts, has now earned $240,516 and paid $2.54 to win. 

The first two divisions of the $209,460 Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Filly Pace were named “The Beach Glass” and sponsored by the Beach Glass Syndicate and Winbak Farm. The last two divisions were named “The Perfect Sting” and sponsored by Brittany Farms.

Maximus Mearas S Stays Unbeaten with Bluegrass Win

Lucas Wallin trainee Maximus Mearas S made a successful leap into Grand Circuit company with a facile come-from-behind score in 1:54 to take the second of five divisions of the $523,651 Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Trot on Thursday afternoon.

Maximus Mearas S (driven by Scott Zeron) landed in fourth as Themoneyisback S (Jim Oscarsson) scampered forward from the pylon post to carry the field by the first quarter in :28.2 and to the half in :56.2. Themoneyisback S started to tire into the final turn, prompting Blue Cartier (David Miller) to pop pocket as a contingent of closers narrowed in to three-quarters, timed in 1:25.4. Maximus Mearas S fanned four wide for the stretch drive and swooped from the pack with the most momentum to grab a half-length win over late-leader Elan Hanover (Todd McCarthy), who settled for second. Blue Cartier finished third another 3-1/2-lengths back and Verse Nine (Andy McCarthy) took fourth.

Undefeated from three starts, Maximus Mearas S has banked $123,678 for owner Kjell Magne Andersen. The colt by Chapter Seven, out of stakes-winning mare Darling Mearas S, paid $4.46 to win. 

Ron Burke pupil Tactical Dynasty returned to the winner’s circle following back-to-back breaks in stride with a 1:54.3 effort in the first Bluegrass division for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings.

Leaving from post eight, Tactical Dynasty (driven by Yannick Gingras) inched forward through an early shuffle and planted onto the point after a :29.3 first quarter, pocketing 1-2 favourite The Rogue Prince (Tim Tetrick). Tactical Dynasty continued on a comfortable lead through a :57.3 and by three-quarters in 1:26.4 as The Rogue Prince waited to make his attack on the leader.

The Rogue Prince pulled outside into the stretch and pressed into Tactical Dynasty, but lost stride through his challenge in the final eighth. Tactical Dynasty continued unfettered and registered a 1-1/4 length win over The Rogue Prince, whose break in the stretch forced his disqualification to fourth. Hey Porter (Dexter Dunn) rallied from last for second through the disqualification and Memento Mori also closed, taking third from the placing.

A colt by Tactical Landing, Tactical Dynasty won his third race from eight starts and has now earned $194,183 for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC, Phillip Collura, Lawrence Karr and J & T Silva—Purnel & Libby. He paid $18.70 to win.

Gap Kronos S towered over the field in the final eighth of the third Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Trot to stop the clock in 1:54.3 drawing away.

Trainer-driver Ake Svanstedt settled Gap Kronos S into fourth as 7-5 favourite Portobarosso As NL (Andy Miller) attempted to lead from pillar to post, clocking a :27.4 first quarter and a :57.4 half before the backfield came calling. Gimpanzee Dancer (Tim Tetrick) marched first over to the final turn with Gap Kronos S on his back and pressured Portobarosso As NL to three-quarters in 1:26.4. Portobarosso As NL had no answer to the challenge and Gimpanzee Dancer forged forward in the stretch, but couldn’t clench the lead as Svanstedt sent his charge to the center of the course and glided over the ground to a widening 2-3/4-length win. Gimpanzee Dancer settled for second, Civilian Drone (Scott Zeron) snagged third from a pylon trip and Portobarosso As NL faded to fourth. 

“He’s really big, but he can trot,” Svanstedt said after the race. Svanstedt also noted, after the colt warmed up clumsy, that he pulled the back shoes ahead of the colt’s lifetime-best win. 

A colt by Face Time Bourbon, Gap Kronos S collected his second win from five starts and pushed his bankroll to $121,917 for owner Bruni Racing Team Inc. He paid $17.72 to win.

Blank (Dexter Dunn) took the win in the fourth Bluegrass colt trot division via disqualification of first-place finisher Go Dog Go (Todd McCarthy), who broke stride and stayed on a gallop crossing the line in the 1:54.3 mile.

Dunn took command with Blank out of post 4 to a :29.2 first quarter and trotted on a comfortable lead to a :58.1 half. Go Dog Go, racing in third, bided his time until hitting the far turn when McCarthy gave him the cue to roll. Go Dog Go pushed past Blank after three-quarters in 1:26.4, and the pair kicked for home by a widening margin from the rest of the field. Go Dog Go tried to stay smooth inside the final eighth but wobbled into a gallop within the last sixteenth and could not return to a trot. He finished three-quarters of a length in front of Blank at the finish, but was disqualified to fifth for violation of the breaking rule. Monserrate (David Miller) closed and was elevated to second with Channing (Yannick Gingras) third and Onemore Volo (Andy McCarthy) fourth.

Marcus Melander trains Blank, a colt by Gimpanzee, for owners S R F Stable and Holly Land Stud East Ltd. He won his second race from six starts, has now banked $192,599 and paid $13.74 to win. 

Trainer-driver Ake Svanstedt collected another Bluegrass win with a pillar-to-post job by 4-5 favourite Happy Jack B in the closing split, timed in 1:54.1. 

Svanstedt had little problem getting Happy Jack B to the top and was left to cut a sensible tempo of :29, :57.2 and 1:26.3. Durante Hanover (Dexter Dunn) tried to make inroads first over but flattened rounding the bottom corner as Happy Jack B hit the accelerator. The Chapter Seven colt scurried clear of the competition and kept chugging over the line to post a three-length win over Hidalgo (Yannick Gingras), who rallied from second over for second. Pocket-chaser Mountcastle (Scott Zeron) faded to third and Ketel One Up (Andy McCarthy) came from third over for fourth.

“He has been hustling a little bit in New York on the smaller tracks, but it was nice to see him back on the big track and open him up,” Sarah Svanstedt said after the race. “He was very nice today." 

Happy Jack B won his second race from six starts and has now earned $245,463 for owners B. Nasstrom Holding Inc., Wolfgang A. Stable Inc. and Joe Sbrocco & JAF Racing. He paid $3.94 to win.

The first two divisions of the $523,651 Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Trot were named “The Captain Corey” and sponsored by the Captain Corey Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms and the remaining three divisions went under different monikers. Division three was named “The Father Patrick” and sponsored by Al Libfeld Equine, division four went as “The Muscle Mass” sponsored by Kentuckiana Farms and the closing division was named “The What The Hill” sponsored by Harness Racing Update. 

Live racing at The Red Mile resumes on Friday (Sept. 27) with six divisions of the $413,900 USD Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Filly Trot and three divisions of the $350,000 USD Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Pace. First-race post time at The Red Mile is 1 p.m. (EDT).

(The Red Mile)