The winners of this year’s major stakes for three-year-old colt trotters -- Break The Bank K, Lucky Chucky, and Muscle Massive -- reunite Saturday, October 16 in the $501,000 Kentucky Futurity at The Red Mile
in Lexington.
Break The Bank K is coming off a win last weekend in the $500,000 Breeders Crown at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. Lucky Chucky won the $1 million Canadian Trotting Classic at Mohawk on September 18 and Muscle Massive won the $1.5 million Hambletonian at the Meadowlands on August 7.
A horse must win two heats to win the Futurity. If different horses win the first two heats, those two will meet in a third heat race-off to decide the champion. The Kentucky Futurity is the third jewel in the Trotting Triple Crown, following the Hambletonian and Yonkers Trot. On The Tab, who won the Yonkers Trot, is not in the Futurity.
Break The Bank K enters the Futurity with three wins in his last four starts. He won the Breeders Crown by 1-3/4 lengths over Wishing Stone in a world-record 1:52.2. Prior to the Breeders Crown, he was second in the Canadian Trotting Classic and won a division of the Simcoe Stakes. For the year, he has four wins in 15 races and $672,000.
“It was a big win, that’s for sure,” trainer Trond Smedshammer said about Break The Bank K’s Breeders Crown. “We had high expectations for the horse leading into the season and he started off good, but then for some reason was not doing so good. There wasn’t really anything wrong with him, he just wasn’t living up to the expectations.
“It’s nice that he’s coming around and was able to win one of those things. It’s very rewarding. It would be great if we could get (the Futurity). It’s not impossible. He should have a lot of confidence right now. The competition is good also; it will be an interesting race. I think he will be good going heats. I told (owner) Bob Key before the Breeders Crown I felt better about the Futurity than I did the Breeders Crown.”
Lucky Chucky was third in the Breeders Crown after leading the first half of the race and setting fractions of :27.1 and :55 while being challenged by Muscle Massive. Lucky Chucky has won four of eight races this season and earned $1.31 million. He has banked $1.99 million in his career, with 13 victories in 20 races. He is 2-for-2 in his career at the Red Mile, having won divisions of the Bluegrass and International Stallion stakes in 2009.
“He trained very good this morning (Wednesday), so I think he’s OK,” Lucky Chucky’s trainer Chuck Sylvester said. “(The Breeders Crown) was tough. He had a little bit of a foot problem coming out of Canada and I didn’t have the right shoes on him. We’ve changed shoes and I think he’ll be OK. The track (at the Red Mile) should be very easy on him.”
Muscle Massive went off stride in the Breeders Crown and finished eighth in the nine-horse field. He has won five of 11 races this year and earned $1.15 million.
After the Breeders Crown race, trainer Jimmy Takter joked, “Next week we have the Futurity, and my horse only raced half a mile (Saturday).”
Wishing Stone, who won the $150,000 American-National at Balmoral Park on August 28, was second in the Breeders Crown and third in the Hambletonian. He has two wins in 10 races and $463,348.
Following is the complete field in post position order for the first heat with listed drivers and trainers:
1. Muscle Massive, Ron Pierce, Jimmy Takter
2. Wishing Stone, George Brennan, Dewayne Minor
3. Pretty Boy Lindy, Tim Tetrick, Frank Antonacci
4. Flex The Muscle, Ray Schnittker, Schnittker
5. Whata Winner, Jim Doherty, Doherty
6. Lucky Chucky, John Campbell, Chuck Sylvester
7. Hes A Demon, Jody Jamieson, Jeff Gillis
8. Winning Fireworks, Jim Morrill Jr., Noel Daley
9. Break The Bank K, Brian Sears, Trond Smedshammer
10. Temple Of Doom, David Miller, Jonas Czernyson.
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit ustrotting.com.