The Bluegrass Stakes kicked off this season's Grand Circuit action at The Red Mile with six total divisions — two for filly pacers and four for trotting males — on Thursday, Oct. 1.
Odds-on chalk Seaside Ubeaut vaulted off a dreamy covered trip and cruised to a career-best-equalling 1:49.2 victory in the $169,628 second division for pacing fillies.
Driver Dexter Dunn eased Seaside Ubeaut forward into a seat in fourth as Treacherous Bet (Yannick Gingras) sped alongside stablemate My Taylors Swift (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) on the front through a :26.4 first quarter. My Taylors Swift slid to the front and rolled along the backstretch to a :53.4 half while Dunn patiently followed and eventually fished out cover into the last turn. Dunn perched Seaside Ubeaut behind first-up Aestas (David Miller) to three-quarters in 1:22 and fanned wide spinning for home, and his charged sprinted away under wraps for a 2-1/2-length victory. Jk Alwaysbpositive (Tim Tetrick) rallied from a ground-saving trip for second with Sister Girl Blues (Andy McCarthy) closing from third-over for third.
“She got a Dexter steer there and that’s why we’re blessed to have him sometimes,” winning trainer Andrew Harris said after the race. “That’s one of those things – he works out a great trip and the filly performed, so we’re thrilled with both of them.”
Seaside Ubeaut, a filly by Downbytheseaside out of world champion Sweet Lou mare Warrawee Ubeaut, has now won four races from seven starts and earned $465,534 for owner Punisher 11 Stable LLC. She paid $3.46 to win.
Brett Pelling pupil Holy stole easy fractions on the lead and stayed strong to the finish for a 13-1 upset with a 1:51.3 effort in the $168,200 first Bluegrass division for two-year-old pacing fillies.
Todd McCarthy planted Holy on the point out of post six to a :27.3 first quarter, and the pacesetter rolled unfettered as 1-5 favourite Jk Lady Liberty (Scott Zeron) bided her time from fourth. Jk Lady Liberty eventually flushed cover from Baby Puppy (Atlee Bender) after a :56.1 half and tracked her steadily through the turn while Holy raced to three-quarters in 1:24. Holy opened two lengths on her rivals straightening for home, which proved a strong enough cushion for the longshot to stave off a rally from Jk Lady Liberty by a half-length at the beam. Baby Puppy gave chase in third.
“She has been all go during her career here at The Red Mile,” said Shaun Laungani, part of the winning ownership group of Diamond Creek Racing. “Didn’t know that she’d have that left in the end to kick home, but [a] masterful drive by Todd I thought to dole out her speed. Because she’s really all speed.”
The winning Sweet Lou filly out of the A Rocknroll Dance mare Constellation has now won two races from seven starts and banked $122,758. Holy returned $29.52 at the windows.
World champion Lifetime Dreamer, who set the global mark for two-year-old trotting geldings with a 1:51.1 victory on Hambletonian Day at The Meadowlands, returned to the winner’s circle as he won the first $130,000 Bluegrass division for rookie colt trotters by open lengths.
Driver Yannick Gingras sent Lifetime Dreamer forward out of post six and wrangled his charge into second as longshot Mahalo (Scott Zeron) led past a :29.1 first quarter. Gingras maintained a tight grip up the backstretch to keep Lifetime Dreamer nestled behind the leader to a :57 half. But once favourite Mats (Dexter Dunn) lifted from fourth to push up the rim, Gingras edged his gelding out of second and surged for the lead to three-quarters in 1:25.1. Lifetime Dreamer motored through the stretch and separated from his peers to romp by six lengths in 1:52.2 with Mats giving chase in second. Mahalo settled for third.
“He has been good all along,” said Sarah Svanstedt of the winning Ake Svanstedt trainee. “Tough racing up in New Jersey, but he has a heart that wants to race and an attitude, so that goes a long way. I really like him. I mean, he went [1:]51[.1], and not many two-year-olds do that. He reminds us about [his sire, Ecurie D DK] – his character and his attitude. It’s always nice to see them when you’ve trained the family before.”
A gelding out of Walner mare Lifetime Gift, Lifetime Dreamer has now won three races from seven starts and earned $239,130 for owners Ake Svanstedt Inc., Brittany Farms LLC, Bruni Racing Team Inc. and Suleyman Yuksel Stables Inc. He paid $6.46 to win.
Fellow Ake Svanstedt trainee Yankee Boss tied for the fastest mile of the four colt dashes when he withstood a persistent stretch bid from 3-2 favourite Whateverittakes As to win the third division by a nose in 1:52.
Floating out of post seven, Yankee Boss (Tim Tetrick) raced wide from the middle of the pack to a :27.3 first quarter and continued to march up the outside in the backstretch to take the lead from longshot stablemate Red Storm Hanover (Ake Svanstedt) past a :55.3 half. Carbon Fiber (Yannick Gingras) inched forward uncovered to the far turn and prompted Whateverittakes As (Tony Hall) to swing off the pylons from third to avoid a shuffle and press for the front. Whateverittakes As loomed alongside Yankee Boss to three-quarters in 1:23.3 and stayed at the leader’s throat all through the homestretch before giving way late for a narrow defeat. Opposition (Andy McCarthy) rallied for third.
“He raced super [in the Peter Haughton Memorial] – he just had a bad post and was very far back, but as an individual he raced unbelievably great that day,” said Jonathan Roberts, winning co-owner of Yankee Boss through Kiwi Stables LLC. “He absolutely earned every step of that race and we’re extremely proud of how hard he fought there.”
Kiwi Stables LLC shares ownership of Yankee Boss, a Captain Corey colt out of Muscle Hill mare Brigit Of Kildare, with Graham Grace Stables LLC. The colt has now won three races from eight starts and earned $246,294. He paid $6.64 to win.
Nancy Takter trainee Presidente matched the quickest mark of the four Bluegrass divisions for freshman trotting males with a 1:52 victory in the fourth and final split of the day.
Yannick Gingras secured the lead with Presidente out of post three briefly to a :28.2 first quarter before relinquishing control to Top Reacher (Scott Zeron) entering the backstretch. Presidente followed the leader to a :55.4 half as Jimdougie Armitage (Ake Svanstedt), pulling off the pylons from fifth, continued to progress up the rim when failing to bait any cover. Despite cutting the air, Jimdougie Armitage drew to equal terms with Top Reacher past three-quarters in 1:24.2 and edged to the lead rounding for home. Presidente then squeezed out of the pocket to swing three wide and then lay aim on Jimdougie Armitage in the stretch, mounting a successful bid to the finish to score by a neck. Jimdougie Armitage settled for second with End Result (Dexter Dunn) closing from a ground-saving trip for third.
“He’s a really nice colt; he has a lot of ability,” Takter said after the race. “I still think he’s a little bit green – he really hasn’t figured out that he’s supposed to charge all the way to the wire. But he’s definitely improving. I was very happy with him today. [Now] we’ll go to the Breeders Crown.”
Presidente competes for owners Black Horse Racing, Moni Maker Stable, Pryde Stables Inc. and Mr. Erik Anderberg. The colt by Walner, out of the Donato Hanover mare Grandmas Moni, won his second race from eight starts and pushed his bankroll to $323,489. He paid $2.98 to win.
Command Center, half-brother to 2026 Hambletonian winner Apex, returned to the winner’s circle in the second male trot division after livening up in a late-stretch battle to win in 1:54.
Dunn settled Command Center, the 4-5 favourite, into fourth from the pylon post while Friday Night Fats (David Miller) pushed from the outermost draw in the octet for the lead to a :28.2 first quarter. Friday Night Fats cleared to command entering the backstretch, at which point Dunn tipped off the pylons and brushed forward to seize control with Command Center past a :57 half. He accelerated on the point through the last turn and opened several lengths on his competition by three-quarters in 1:25.1, but he wavered while alone on the lead in the lane. Nights In Miami (Marvin Luna) ripped through a seam at the inside to press Command Center late, though the favourite reengaged once confronted to the finish and held firmly for the win by a neck. Special Day (Andy McCarthy) finished third from a first-over move in the last turn.
“He’s a really nice colt, but he did get a little lost halfway up the straight,” Dunn said after the race. “I had to ease him and a lot of talking to him, but he got back to it when I asked him.”
Marcus Melander trains Command Center, a two-time winner from six starts with $189,252 banked, for owners S R F Stable, Holly Lane Stud East Ltd. and Steve Stewart. The colt by Gimpanzee, out of world champion mare and Red Mile track-record holder Mission Brief, paid $3.94 to win.
The Bluegrass Stakes divisions were sponsored by Hanover Shoe Farms, the Captain Corey Syndicate, the Greenshoe Syndicate, Kentuckiana Farms and Al Libfeld Equine.
Live harness racing at The Red Mile resumes on Friday with seven total Bluegrass divisions. There will be four splits of the $377,000 USD Bluegrass for two-year-old filly trotters and three dashes of the $267,900 USD Bluegrass for rookie pacing colts and geldings. First-race post time is 1 p.m. (EDT).
(The Red Mile; photo of Seaside Ubeaut winning on Oct. 1)