Odds-on choice Captain Arturovico swept to the lead past the quarter and held authority to the finish for a comfortable 1:49.1 victory in the $49,296 kickoff leg of the Kentucky Sire Stakes (KYSS) for four-year-old pacing males on Monday afternoon (July 27) at The Red Mile.
Driver Dexter Dunn eased into third with Captain Arturovico from the pylon post as Damn The Torpedoes (driven by Andy McCarthy) crossed over from post seven to grab the lead to a :27.4 first quarter. Dunn soon pulled his charge from the pylons and brushed to the top before a :55.2 half and cruised under minimal pressure to three-quarters in 1:22.4. From there, he glided home for a 3-3/4-length victory while Damn The Torpedoes gave chase in second with Fusion (Josert Fonseca) rallying from a third-over trip for third and Somelousomewhere (Atlee Bender) levelling off from a first-over bid past the half for fourth.
Ron Burke trains Captain Arturovico, a four-year-old 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 collected his fifth win from 13 starts this season and his 17th victory from 43 starts in his career, pushing his earnings to $754,888. He paid $3.08 to win.
Dunn also scored in the $49,296 KYSS opening prelim for four-year-old pacing mares, contested as a non-betting race before the pari-mutuel card, with Brett Pelling pupil Three Times Bettor in a 1:50.1 mile.
After sitting a pocket trip to pacesetter Odds On Chesapeake (Luke Hanners) through opening fractions of :28.1 and :55.1, Three Times Bettor lifted after the leader approaching three-quarters in 1:24.1 and surged by smoothly in the stretch for a 1-3/4-length win. Odds On Chesapeake finished second with Caviart Delight (Todd McCarthy) closing for third and Rose (Andy McCarthy) settling for fourth.
A daughter of Bettors Delight-Three Times A Lady, Three Times Bettor competes for owner Thaddeus Wier of East Aurora, NY. She won her seventh race from nine starts this season and her 16th race from 26 starts in her career, good for $587,251 in earnings.
Live harness racing at The Red Mile resumes on Tuesday (July 28) with a 15-race card headlined by a $35,000 USD KYSS division for four-year-old trotting males. A $35,000 USD KYSS split for four-year-old trotting mares will also be held as a non-betting race before the pari-mutuel card, which begins at 1 p.m. (EDT).
(With files from The Red Mile: Photo of Captain Arturovico)