The Red Mile hosted seven divisions of the Bluegrass Stakes, with purses totalling $789,043, on Thursday, Sept. 25. 

The Sweet Lou-Warrawee Winx filly Topville Lucky added another win to her nearly perfect record with a 1:50.4 performance to take the second of three $112,329 divisions for rookie pacing fillies.

Leaving from the pylon post, Topville Lucky (Dexter Dunn) cruised into fourth to a :28.1 first quarter and sat patiently behind a shuffle up the backside, in which Bettor Be A Star (David Miller) emerged on top after pulling off the pylons from third. Bettor Be A Star took over past a :56.1 half, at which point Topville Lucky tipped outside and advanced towards the front. Topville Lucky loomed nearer passing three-quarters in 1:24.1 and edged to a narrow lead in a three-high battle to the line. Topville Lucky held firmly for the win by a neck over Gracious (Todd McCarthy), who slipped through a seam at the pylons off a pocket trip but settled for second. Bettor Be A Star finished between horses in third.

“I was nervous when we saw the three-quarter pole in 1:24[.1], and you know that they’re going to go in [1:]50 and change,” said trainer Andrew Harris, who obtained the filly from trainer Erv Miller and co-owner Doug Overhiser ahead of her win in the Kentucky Championship Series Final on Sept. 14. “It’s a little bit iffy when you see those kinds of fractions, but she showed she’s got some guts.”

Harris shares ownership of Topville Lucky, a five-time winner from six tries with $464,841 banked, alongside Bill Pollock and Bruce Areman. Sent off as the 1-9 chalk, she paid $2.26 to win.

Tony Dinges’ Tall Dark Stranger-Nashville Elgenna pupil Nash (Marvin Luna) broke her maiden by registering the fastest mile of the three Bluegrass filly pace divisions with a 1:50.1 effort while pulling a 14-1 upset.

Luna laid back in third with Nash as 3-2 second choice Hope Hill (Dunn) brushed by 4-5 favourite On Heir (Andy McCarthy) to take the lead passing a :28 first quarter. Hope Hill carried the field up the backstretch to a :56.1 half and pushed the pedal into the last turn with On Heir giving the closest chase rushing by three-quarters in 1:23.4. McCarthy angled outside with On Heir, who passed Hope Hill turning for home but wavered once in front and nearing the final eighth of a mile. Luna fanned to the center of the track with Nash off a ground-saving trip, and the filly gathered momentum to make a late attack. Nash overpowered On Heir in the last strides to win by a neck while Hope Hill tired to third.

Nash, winning her first race from seven starts and increasing her bankroll to $89,706, competes for owner Jerry Glantz. She paid $30.62 to win.

Amira Hanover (Joe Bongiorno) intently tracked pacesetter and odds-on favourite Big Weekend (Tim Tetrick) for most of the mile before surging outside and warding off closing rivals for a 1:51.2 win in the first Bluegrass filly pace division.

Bongiorno planted Amira Hanover on the point past a :28.4 first quarter but yielded control once confronted by Big Weekend on the backstretch. Big Weekend grabbed the lead and coasted to a :56.3 half all while Amira Hanover followed locked on Tetrick’s helmet moving into the turn. After three-quarters in 1:24.2, Big Weekend hit the ropes and started shortening in stride heading for home. Bongiorno swung outside with Amira Hanover and urged his charge to hold sway to the finish, and she successfully did so by 1-1/4 lengths. Rocksy (Andy McCarthy) closed from last for second with Kissedbyastranger (Yannick Gingras) rallying in the two-path for third.

“I was just glad to have Joey back in the bike,” said John Fodera, who shares ownership on Amira Hanover through In The Gym Partners. “The other guys have done a great job with her, [but] Joe knows her so well and has really had a lot of patience with her. We’re prepping her for the Kindergarten at The Meadowlands and just spreading out her races. That’s the kind of trip she likes – she likes to sit the pocket and pull at the end.”

A filly by Papi Rob Hanover-Ameraway, Amira Hanover collected her second win from six starts and has now earned $94,218 for owners Let It Ride-Chodash, Patrick O’Brien, Joe Sbrocco, and In The Gym Partners. Joe Bongiorno conditions the filly who paid $10.72 to win.  

Norm Parker trainee Mr Big Spender persisted off a speedy push early and stayed strong until the end for a narrow win in the second $113,699 Bluegrass division for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings.

Driver Mike Wilder vaulted Mr Big Spender past rivals out of post eight through the first turn and slid by 6-5 favourite Mr Penner (Ake Svanstedt) after a :26.3 first quarter. Nordic Dancer S (Dunn) soon pulled wide out of sixth and rushed forward up the backstretch to grab control past a :54.4 half. Nordic Dancer S slowed to take a breather on the turn and endured a first-over challenge from Oversear (Charlie Norris) moving for three-quarters in 1:23.3, but they both tired off the bottom corner. Wilder moved outside with Mr Big Spender while Svanstedt had open road at the pylons to rush forward with Mr Penner, and Nix Nacken (Scott Zeron) charged from the back with the most momentum late. Mr Big Spender edged to the lead and staved off Mr Penner while thwarting the late surge of Nix Nacken to clinch a nose victory in a lifetime-best 1:51.2 mile, the fastest time of the male divisions. Nix Nacken took second from Mr Penner.

“He’s a pretty special horse,” Wilder said after the race. “He’s had a couple of bumps in the road – that’s maybe a two-year-old trotter for you; could be my fault, could be his fault. But it’s been a tremendous ride. I didn’t expect such hot [fractions]. I really had to work for it and it worked out great. I didn’t know how he would hold up to those numbers, but I got him off the [pylons] at the top of the stretch and it was a good race to the wire. He fired for me.”

A colt by Captain Corey-Reilly K, Mr Big Spender won his sixth race from 10 starts and has now earned $264,190 for owners Bart and Todd Brice. The second choice in the betting, he paid $4.94 to win.

Minoan pounced from the pocket past off-stride leader Neighver Punt and strode clear to a 1:52.4 win in the $113,699 first male division.

Neighver Punt (Dunn) pushed out of post five for the front with Minoan (Todd McCarthy) settling into second approaching a :27.4 first quarter. The field marched in line up the backside behind a steady tempo to a :55.4 half while Dunn kept a tight grip on his charge’s reins moving for the turn. Minoan crept out of the pocket past three-quarters in 1:24.1 and briefly drew alongside Neighver Punt at the top of the stretch until that rival rolled into a gallop. Minoan pulled away nearing the finish and posted a four-length win over Be Green (Andy Miller), who rallied as the longest shot on the board at 64-1 for second. Create Escape (Svanstedt) also closed to take third.

Noel Daley trains and co-owns Minoan, a Bar Hopping-Regal Woman colt, with partners Patricia Stable, L.A. Express Stable LLC, and Sjoblom Racing Inc. The colt won for the third time in eight starts – missing the board just once – and has raked in $195,955. As the 6-5 favourite, he paid $4.50 to win.

Im Kronos S (Svanstedt) barrelled through an opening at the inside and prevailed in a stretch sprint for a 1:52.3 victory in the $112,329 third Bluegrass colt division.

Svanstedt settled Im Kronos S into fourth as Captain Naughty (Tim Tetrick) sailed on the lead to a :28.4 first quarter and continued unchallenged up the backstretch to a :56.4 half. It Could Be Worse (Scott Zeron), the 3-2 second choice, tracked from the pocket and began pulling outside through the last turn with Highball Hanover (Andy McCarthy) and Im Kronos S following his move on the approach to three-quarters in 1:25.2. Captain Naughty tired and broke stride turning for home as It Could Be Worse hit the front but plateaued. Highball Hanover motored down the center of the track to take over the lead while Svanstedt dipped inside, and Im Kronos S zipped forward to snag the victory late by a nose. It Could Be Worse settled for third.

“I didn’t know he won,” Sarah Svanstedt said with a laugh after the race. “That was a good surprise. He started the year very good and then he came in from the paddock with some bad habits, so we put him on hold. It wasn’t a big thing, but it wasn’t a perfect thing either. So he had a bit of a break and now he’s back again.”

Breaking his maiden in the fourth start of his career, Im Kronos S has now earned $84,345 for owners Part Of Dream Inc. and Bruni Racing Team Inc. The Walner-Im Really Special colt, sent of as the 3-5 favourite, paid $3.58 to win.

Requiem (David Miller) landed as the 7-5 favorite in the $112,329 final Bluegrass freshman male trot division with a 1:52.3 effort.

Requiem went to the fore out of post five and cleared to command through a :29.1 first quarter and cruised up the backstretch under no pressure to a :57.2 half. Zephyr Kemp (Dexter Dunn), sitting in the pocket, loomed outside through the last turn with Practical Man (Todd McCarthy) in tow rolling to three-quarters in 1:25.3, but Requiem spun for home with resolve and turned away all challengers in the stretch. He crossed the beam a half-length in front of Practical Man with Zephyr Kemp finishing third.

“He’s a really nice horse,” trainer Matt Burkholder said. “He was very nice training down, but I’m happy he got home. We’ll take [his season] start by start, but we’ll probably go to Corbin [for the Cumberland Run meet]. I think David Miller did a phenomenal job developing both [of my] colts, this horse and Silverstein. I mean… that’s why he’s Purple Jesus, right?”

Winning his third race from eight starts, Requiem has accrued $141,023 in earnings for owner Dark Horse Farm LLC. The Muscle Hill-Ostrich Blue Chip colt paid $4.96 to win.

The divisions were sponsored by the Beach Glass Syndicate and Winbak Farm, the Volume Eight Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms, Kentuckiana Farms, the Sig Sauer Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms, Al Libfeld Equine, and Brittany Farms.

Live racing resumes at The Red Mile on Friday, Sept. 26 with a 13-race card headlined by four divisions of the Bluegrass for two-year-old pacing colts and geldings and four divisions for rookie trotting fillies. Friday’s card also features a $7,500 guarantee on the Early Pick 4, which covers Races 6-9. Every Pick 4 and the 50-cent Pick 5, which begins in Race 3, at The Red Mile features a low takeout of 12 per cent.

First-race post time at The Red Mile is 1 p.m.

(The Red Mile; photo of Topville Lucky winning on Sept. 25)