Loua Dipa, fresh off a Canadian record 1:49.1 romp in the Grade 1 Shes A Great Lady Stakes at Woodbine Mohawk Park, headlines the International Stallion Stakes for two-year-old pacing fillies on the Friday, Oct. 3 card at The Red Mile.
Loua Dipa, a Ron Burke pupil who has only missed the board once in nine starts when finishing fifth in the Pennsylvania Sires Stakes final on Sept. 5, will start from post six as the 3-5 morning line favourite in race six, a $71,000 USD division named “The Stockade Seelster” sponsored by Cornerstone Stock Farm. Ronnie Wrenn Jr. retains the drive on the Sweet Lou-Looksgoodinaromper filly after guiding her to a 4-1/2-length win going away in the Shes A Great Lady.
Freshman pacing fillies begin their afternoon of stakes action in race four, a $71,000 USD division of “The Tall Dark Stranger” sponsored by the Tall Dark Stranger Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms. Burke again sends out the morning line chalk, this time with a Sweet Lou-Benear filly Im A Lou Lou from post seven with Tim Tetrick in the bike. She ships south following a seventh-place defeat to stablemate Loua Dipa in the Shes A Great Lady final, but before flying to Canada she cashed a second-place cheque with a 1:52.1 effort in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes final. Her competition in the eight-horse field also includes Brian Brown trainee Gracious, a filly by Captaintreacherous-L A Delight entering off a runner-up effort behind Kentucky Championship Series winner Topville Lucky in a Bluegrass division last week. Todd McCarthy will drive the filly from post three as she tries to break her maiden in the seventh start of her career.
Topville Lucky will try to ring another tally on her win streak when leaving from post eight in the final $72,000 USD division for pacing fillies, carded as race 10 and also named “The Tall Dark Stranger.” Dexter Dunn will drive the Sweet Lou-Warrawee Winx filly, who is looking for her fifth win in a row as well as her third straight since moving into the Andrew Harris barn via private purchase from Erv Miller and Doug Overhiser. The five-time winner from six starts, with her lone blemish coming from a break in stride in a Kentucky Championship Series division, is the 6-5 morning line favourite against a pair of Bluegrass division winners in Amira Hanover, leaving from post three for trainer/driver Joe Bongiorno, and Nash, who will start from post nine with Marvin Luna driving for trainer Tony Dinges.
The Friday card opens with the first of four divisions of the International Stallion Stakes for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings, a $72,000 USD division sponsored by the Six Pack Syndicate and Deo Volente Farms. Matt Burkholder’s Muscle Hill-Ostrich Blue Chip colt Requiem aims for a sweep of Grand Circuit stakes action following a 1:52.3 victory as the 7-5 chalk in a Bluegrass division last week. David Miller will drive Requiem, the 6-5 morning line favourite, from post six in the seven-horse field.
William Wellwood Memorial champ Ardonne invades the red clay in the second $73,000 USD division for trotting colts and geldings, carded as race three and sponsored by the Walner Syndicate. The Megan Scran-trained Tactical Landing-Burberry colt scored a facile 1:52.4 win in the Grade 1 Wellwood in late August and then returned a month later in the Mohawk Million, where he sat off the speed and settled for fifth. Scott Zeron will drive Ardonne from post eight, one slot wide of Marcus Melander trainee Zephyr Kemp – a third-place finisher in Bluegrass action last week – and two slots wide of Ake Svanstedt pupil Nordic Dancer S, a full brother to 2025 Hambletonian winner Nordic Catcher S looking to rebound from a tiring seventh-place effort in Bluegrass action last week. Melander will also send Nix Nacken, a Muscle Hill-Nixie Volo gelding who closed quickly for a runner-up finish in a Bluegrass division last week, from post three with brother Mattias Melander at the lines.
Im Kronos S, a 1:52.3 winner in Bluegrass action last week, will confront Matt Burkholder trainee Silverstein, listed as the 9-5 morning line chalk, in the third $73,000 USD division for freshman trotting males in race eight, which is sponsored by the Six Pack Syndicate and Deo Volente Farms. Trainer Ake Svanstedt will remain in the bike on Im Kronos S, a Walner-Im Really Special colt who broke his maiden with his Bluegrass win last week, from the pylon post. Silverstein, meanwhile, has landed post four off a pair of third-place finishes, one in the Kentucky Championship Series final and the other in the Grade 1 Mohawk Million. David Miller will drive the Chapter Seven-Shining Brightly gelding.
The final $73,000 USD International Stallion Stakes division for freshman trotting males, carded as race 11 and sponsored by the Walner Syndicate, drew Bluegrass division winner Minoan, who will start from post two off his 1:52.4 romp at odds of 6-5. Todd McCarthy will drive the Noel Daley-trained Bar Hopping-Regal Woman colt in an eight-horse affair where trainer/driver Ake Svanstedt has the morning line choice with Mr Penner, a Captain Corey-Wet My Whistle gelding who finished third in his Bluegrass division with a 1:51.2 mile, and will start from post seven. The race also features American Power, a Walner colt out of 2017 Hambletonian Oaks winner Ariana G, who will start from post three off an open-length win in 1:53. David Miller will drive the colt for trainer Marcus Melander.
Due to a double carryover of the Saturday Pick 5s totalling $19,846.16, The Red Mile will guarantee a $75,000 pool for the 50-cent Pick 5 on Friday’s 13-race card, which begins in race three and has an industry-low takeout of 12 per cent. Friday’s card also has a $7,500 guarantee on the Early Pick 4, which begins in race six and also has a 12 per cent takeout.
First-race post time at The Red Mile is 1 p.m.
(The Red Mile; photo of Loua Dipa winning on Sept. 20 at Woodbine Mohawk Park)