Driver Joey Putnam frequented the winner's circle on the Monday (June 8) card at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel on Monday (June 8), winning five races including the undercard feature and one of the two $27,778 races for Kentucky Sire Stakes (KYSS) eligibles.
Putnam opened the card with a victory in the $27,778 KYSS eligible dash for three-year-old trotting fillies with a slick steer on 9-5 second choice Degas in a 1:54 mile. Putnam planted the Eric Patalan trainee into fourth while Country Glide (driven by Melvin Schmucker) took command to a :27.4 first quarter and cruised through a :56.1 half. Chiquita Ba-Beeman (Atlee Bender) launched a first-over bid moving for the backstretch while Putnam waited and eventually floated forward to ride her cover from second-over marching towards three-quarters in 1:24.4. Degas lifted off cover rounding the final turn and kicked away while pursued late by 4-5 favourite Decreed (Marcus Miller) to hold on for a half-length win. Country Glide checked in third and Out The Window (Josert Fonseca) closed from last for fourth.
A filly by Gimpanzee-Air Quote Hanover, Degas won her third race from six starts this season and her fifth race from 18 starts in her career, earning $138,154 for owner Thestable Degas Group of Brunswick, OH. She paid $5.70 to win.
Putnam also won in the undercard feature, a $27,778 conditioned pace, with an aggressive drive on 5-1 shot Strangerinthenight to lead every step of the way in a 1:50.3 mile.
After firing off the wings from post 2, Strangerinthenight clocked a :26 opener and forced 1-2 favourite Night Hawk (Devon Tharps) off the speed, putting him in a spot to come first up heading to a :55.2 half. Night Hawk advanced up the rim and matched strides with Strangerinthenight to three-quarters in 1:22.4, but the wide trip took its toll and he levelled off spinning for home. Strangerinthenight ripped for the finish to win by 1-3/4 lengths over pocket-sitter Fearless Bettor (Marvin Luna) while Night Hawk took third and Tookadiveoffdipper (Brandon Bates) finished fourth.
Wayne Oke trains Strangerinthenight, a four-year-old gelding by Tall Dark Stranger-Tall Drink Hanover, for owner A Piece Of The Action LLC of Culver City, CA. The gelding won his fourth race from nine starts this season and his seventh from 35 in his career, earning $252,273, and paid $12.90 to win.
Putnam's other three wins on the day came with two aggressive drives — one on This Kit Rocks ($3.38 to win) launching from post 9 for a front-stepping win in 1:53.1 and another chasing Serious Miki ($6.82) for the lead to win in 1:51.4 — and with one patient drive teeing up favoured Prince Willie ($2.20) off fast fractions to power off a helmet for a 1:50.4 victory.
The other KYSS eligibles race, for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings, went in pillar-to-post fashion to Clay Simpson pupil Onemorenkickmeout (Wyatt Avenatti) in a 1:53.2 mile.
Avenatti thrusted the International Moni-Martini Lindy gelding to the lead heading to a :26.3 first quarter and shut down the tempo in middle fractions of :57 and 1:25 while even-money favorite Zephyr Kemp (Marvin Luna) mounted a first-over bid. Onemorenkickmeout repelled the chalk turning for home and strode to a 2-1/4-length win over pocket-sitter Nofreak Volo (Marcus Miller) in second. Lethal Legacy (Josert Fonseca) rallied for third and Zephyr Kemp tired to fourth.
Simpson co-owns Onemorenkickmeout with Stephen Mattox of Las Cruces, NM. The gelding won back-to-back races to start his sophomore season and collected his eighth win from 15 starts in his career, earning $75,251. He paid $5.90 to win.
Live racing resumes at Oak Grove on Tuesday (June 9) with a 13-race card scheduled. First-race post time is 1:10 p.m. (CDT).
(With files from Oak Grove; Photo of Strangerinthenight)