Brett Pelling pupil Three Times Bettor and Chris Beaver trainee Gimpanzee Dancer defended their Kentucky Sire Stakes (KYSS) titles at Oak Grove with wins in their respective $211,268 finals on the Monday (June 22) card.
Three Times Bettor (driven by Dexter Dunn) maintained control late from a tough first half to score a neck victory in the KYSS final for four-year-old pacing mares in a 1:49.4 mile.
Dunn found himself in a tight spot early as Rose (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) barreled from the center of the gate to swoop after leader Aintnothingucando (Yannick Gingras) marching to a :26.3 first quarter. Three Times Bettor tracked Rose up the rim until Wrenn cleared command, at which point Dunn ground his charge forward and reached the lead approaching a :54.3 half. Champagne Room (Tim Tetrick) soon angled off the pylons from fourth for an attack up the backside while Three Times Bettor cruised comfortably to clock three-quarters in 1:22.3.
Dunn asked Three Times Bettor to accelerate rounding the last turn and got the jump on her peers as Unreasonable (Jason Bartlett) lifted off a second-over trip and gathered menacing momentum late. Three Times Bettor held her ground and kept a neck up on hard-charging Unreasonable at the beam with Rose left in third and Caviart Delight (Todd McCarthy) emerging from off the speed for fourth.
A daughter of Bettors Delight-Three Times A Lady, Three Times Bettor competes for owner Thaddeus Wier of East Aurora, NY and has now won six races from seven starts this season and 15 races from 24 starts in her career, good for $545,702 in earnings. She paid $2.96 to win.
Gimpanzee Dancer (Andy McCarthy) asserted full authority in the KYSS final for four-year-old trotting horses and geldings with an in-hand victory by open lengths in a 1:52 mile.
McCarthy hustled his charge to the lead and parked hard-leaving My Degenerate (Tyler Miller) through the turn to force him into the pocket. After lighting a :26.2 opener, Gimpanzee Dancer settled and slowed the tempo, prompting Vugoo (Yannick Gingras) to tip first up out of fourth nearing a :55.4 half. Vugoo pressed forward but applied only mild pressure to the leader coming to three-quarters in 1:23.4 before retreating through the turn, all while Gimpanzee Dancer quickened for home with ease to put away his competition by four lengths. My Degenerate held second from Royal Comet (Marvin Luna), who skimmed the pylons for third, and Big Shoes (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) rallied for fourth.
Chris Beaver of Radnor, OH co-owns Gimpanzee Dancer, a stallion by Gimpanzee-Weslynn Dancer, with partners Carolina Acosta of Radnor, OH, and Derek Ivany of Toronta, Ont. He won his seventh race from 10 starts this season and his 13th race from 39 starts in his career, earning $797,356. Sent the odds-on favorite, he paid $2.94 to win.
Captain Arturovico (Dexter Dunn) notched a sweep of the KYSS series for four-year-old pacing horses and geldings with a pocket-pouncing win in a lifetime-best 1:48.4 to open the 15-race card.
Dunn slid Captain Arturovico forward off the wings and edged by pylon-starter Damn The Torpedoes (Tim Tetrick) to take an early lead while 1-5 favourite Harrisburg Heist (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) cruised up the rim from his wide draw. Harrisburg Heist pushed for the lead through a :26.1 first quarter and then grabbed control from his stablemate just before a :53.4 half. The favourite coasted up the backstretch with minimal pressure looming while Captain Arturovico raced intently from the pocket striding by three-quarters in 1:21.1.
Captain Arturovico crept from the pocket spinning for home and overhauled the favourite upon straightening to then spurt clear by 2-3/4 lengths for the win. Bourbon County (Jason Bartlett) rallied to grab second from a weary Harrisburg Heist while Damn The Torpedoes gave pursuit from fourth.
Ron Burke trains Captain Arturovico, a gelding by Captaintreacherous-Tilikum, for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC of Fredericktown, PA, Weaver Bruscemi LLC of Canonsburg, PA, Larry Karr of Boca Raton, FL, and Phil Collura of Mountain Top, PA. The gelding won his fourth race from 11 starts this season and his 16th race from 41 starts in his career, earning $717,026. He paid $10.12 to win.
Lasting Dream (Daniel Dube) lunged through a seam at the pylons from a pocket trip to land the win in the KYSS final for four-year-old trotting mares in a 1:52.2 mile.
Dube fired Lasting Dream forward and obliged for a pocket seat to 7-5 favourite R Dutchess (Tim Tetrick) passing a :26.3 first quarter. R Dutchess cleared and took the field to a :55.1 half, but soon bore pressure in the backstretch when Winnpanzee (Yannick Gingras) pulled first up out of fourth and rolled up the rim with Voguish (Dexter Dunn) in tow. Winnpanzee stalled in her bid to three-quarters in 1:23.4 while R Dutchess narrowly held the lead coming for home. But as she drifted from the pylons in the race to the finish, Lasting Dream burst from the pocket through the gap and successfully collared the favourite late to win by a neck. Winnpanzee stayed on to take third while Voguish trotted evenly down the center of the track for fourth.
Luc Blais trains Lasting Dream, a daughter of Cantab Hall-Dream Together, for owner-breeder Determination of Montreal, Que. She won her second race from four starts this season and her eighth race from 26 starts in her career, earning $918,660. She paid $6.76 to win.
Oak Grove also hosted seven total $56,448 divisions of KYSS for pacing two-year-olds with four splits for the males and three splits for the fillies. The overall top freshman performance of the day came from the second division for fillies when Banana Beach (Ronnie Gillespie) torched the track to win in 1:51.4 in her debut, clocking just four-fifths of a second off of the track record. The Ronnie Gillespie-trained daughter of Pebble Beach-Sweet Anna Banana races for owners Heather Sparks of Paris, KY and Dr. Madonna Morrison of Lexington, KY, and paid $4.62 to win in her 4-1/4-length romp.
The other dashes for the fillies went to Capt Midnight-Shartin N progeny Kountry Legacy (Todd McCarthy, 1:55.1 winning mile; $4.92 to win) and Bordeaux Station (Yannick Gingras, 1:55; $7.48).
On the male pacing side, Midnight Drive (Dexter Dunn, 1:53.2; $4.24) posted the top performance with a front-stepping victory by four lengths. Jamie Sullivan trains the colt by Stay Hungry-Turnoffthelights for owners David Hamm of Dagsboro, DE, Glenn Phillips of Frankford, DE, and Frank Chick of Harrington, DE.
The other dashes for pacing males were won by Im Toohot For You (Marcus Miller, 1:54.1; $13.64), Atlantic Ivey (Atlee Bender, 1:53.3; $4.90) and Ballarddrgoldfngr (Archie Buford, 1:54.3; $7.10).
A pair of Open Pace events highlighted the undercard on the marathon day. Muskateer Hanover (Tim Tetrick, 1:51.2; $13.66) registered his third straight win at the top class when the Wayne Oak trainee rallied from a pocket ride past tiring 2-5 favourite Women Layer (Todd McCarthy) to win the $50,704 Open Handicap Pace by a nose over fast-closing Funtime Bayama (Dexter Dunn) and A Cool Moment (Joey Putnam).
Bonitas Best Bet (Yannick Gingras, 1:51; $12.04) later grabbed the lead and sped around the track to wire her peers in the $33,000 Fillies and Mares Open Pace with a 3-3/4-length victory for trainer Ron Burke.
Live racing at Oak Grove resumes on Tuesday (June 23) for a special program deemed "Tuesday at the Trots" with a card featuring 16 total races all for trotters, including KYSS for two- and three-year-olds of both sexes as well as a $36,000 USD Open Handicap Trot carded as Race 4. First-race post time is 1:10 p.m. (CDT).
(With files from Oak Grove; Photo of Three Times Bettor)