The Red Mile hosted a full slate of Kentucky Sires Stakes on Sunday, Aug. 9 including a handful of events rescheduled from last Wednesday's cancellation as early non-wagering races.
Funky Buddha motored for the lead and held the upper edge of a cutthroat stretch battle against 6-5 favourite Sea Bistro Hanover to win the lone $111,111 Kentucky Championship Series opening preliminary for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings.
Leaving from post five, Funky Buddha, driven by Tim Tetrick, brushed for the lead through a :26.4 first quarter to clear Sea Bistro Hanover (Todd McCarthy), and he maintained his speed to a :53.3 half and 1:20.3 three-quarters. Sea Bistro Hanover tipped from the pocket rounding for home to inch forward and lock eyes with Funky Buddha in a battle that persisted all through the long stretch. Funky Buddha remained resolute to hold his ground by a scant nostril at the end of a 1:47.2 mile with Sneaky Squeaky (Joe Bongiorno) gaining on the top pair from a stalking trip for third.
Tony Dinges trains Funky Buddha, a colt by Sweet Lou-The Double Deuce, for owner Rick Berks of Paris, Kentucky. The colt collected his third win from seven starts this season and his sixth win from 17 starts in his career, pushing his earnings to $346,812. He paid $18.86 to win.
Victorianas Secret and driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. capitalized from a stalking trip against hard-strung favourite Jailbird Jog (Anthony MacDonald) to win the first of two $111,111 Kentucky Championship Series opening preliminaries for three-year-old trotting fillies on the Sunday card.
Wrenn swept up the rim through a :27.3 first quarter to take a brief lead until Jailbird Jog looped around to the top into a :54.1 half. Jailbird Jog remained on the muscle to three-quarters in 1:21.4 but trotted evenly for home. Victorianas Secret lifted from the covered trip to spurt by the weary favourite and reached the line in time for a three-quarter-length win in a 1:50 mile – one-fifth of a second off the divisional track record – over closing Ygritte (Dexter Dunn). Shes Moi (Tim Tetrick) also pushed from mid-pack for third and Jailbird Jog tired to fourth.
Vernon Beachy trains Victorianas Secret, a filly by Tactical Landing-Victoriana, for owner Ryan Smith of Dennison, Ohio. The filly won her sixth race from eight starts this season and her seventh race from 16 starts in her career, putting her bankroll at $393,843. She paid $8.28 to win.
Heart For Two, driven by Yannick Gingras, also converted a pocket trip into a victory when posting a 1:51.1 win in the other $111,111 Kentucky Championship Series dash for three-year-old trotting fillies.
Heart For Two stalked tempo-setter Godusa (David Miller) through a clip of :28, :56 and 1:23.3 before gathering steam for the long stretch. Heart For Two built momentum and surged forward to collar Godusa late for a length win with odds-on favourite Days Away (Dexter Dunn) pushing late from second-over for third.
Andrew Harris trains Heart For Two, a daughter of Gimpanzee-House Music FR, for owner Punisher 11 Stable of Freehold, New Jersey. The filly won her third race from seven starts this season and her fifth race from 18 starts in her career, now boasting a bankroll of $328,623. She paid $36.90 to win.
Sunday’s marathon 17-race card also featured $41,667 divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series for three-year-old trotting fillies and three-year-old pacing colts and geldings.
Serenity As and Dexter Dunn soared from last with a :26.1 final quarter in the lone non-betting division to take top honours among the two dashes for three-year-old trotting fillies. Anette Lorentzon trains the Calgary Games-Cassandra As filly, who was 1:53 winner by a neck over Decreed (Tim Tetrick), for owner Acl Stuteri Ab of Paris, Kentucky. Zaheera (Andrew McCarthy) was third.
The Lorentzon-trained Joyofmylife As (Tony Hall) won the other division in 1:53.3.
Thiago Hanover and Yannick Gingras took the lead past the quarter and held firmly for the fastest win of the three splits for pacing glamour boys in 1:48.1. The Tall Dark Stranger-Trillions Hanover gelding, who hails from the Ron Burke stable, held off Obliterate (Patrick Ryder) by a head, with Thunder Jam (Todd McCarthy) rounding out the top three. He is owned by Burke Racing Stable of Fredericktown, Pennsylvania, Lawrence Karr of Boca Raton, Florida, Knox Services of Mt. Vernon, Ohio and Beasty of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Trainer Chris Ryder and driver Dexter Dunn teamed up to win the other two splits with sub-1:50 winners Captain Apple (1:49.2) and Show Me Your Ace (1:49.4).
The $20,833 Kentucky Golden Rod three-year-old trotting filly winners were: Numanthia (Marvin Luna) in 1:53.2 for trainer Bob Stewart; Joanna Joanna (Andrew McCarthy) in 1:54.1 for Brendan Johnson; Cynic (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) in 1:53.2 for Robert Taylor; and Clemency (Todd McCarthy) in 1:53.1 for Carter Pinske.
The Golden Rod three-year-old pacing colt and gelding divisions were won by: Watchfire (Yannick Gingras) in 1:50.3 for Jonas Czernyson; Benny B Hill (Dexter Dunn) in 1:52.3 for Virgil Morgan Jr.; and Door Dash (Yannick Gingras) in 1:48.3 for Trent Stohler.
During thre make-up non-wagering card, Kissme Ifyoucan and driver Austin Hanners pounced from a pocket ride and held back game tempo-setter Heart Of Secret to take the $111,111 Kentucky Championship Series opening preliminary for two-year-old trotting fillies in a 1:51.4 mile.
Heart Of Secret (Yannick Gingras) swiftly left the gate for the lead while Kissme Ifyoucan glided out of post two to procure the pocket approaching a :27.3 first quarter. Hanners stayed steady behind Heart Of Secret as she cut a :55 half and 1:23.3 three-quarters under minimal pressure, but then fired his charge after the leader rounding for home. Kissme Ifyoucan ground by Heart Of Secret in the stretch and kept her at bay through the stretch sprint to win by a half length with Sweetest Of All (Atlee Bender) closing for third.
Todd Luther trains Kissme Ifyoucan, a filly by In Range-I Gotta Feelin purchased from the 2025 Lexington Selected Sale for $222,222 by owner Greg Luther Racing of Blacklick, Ohio. The filly, with a single blemish on her record in five starts from a runner-up finish in the $214,286 Next Generation at Scioto Downs, has now banked $163,273 in her career.
Diana Hanover and Tim Tetrick brushed out of fourth for the lead in the backstretch and comfortably took the lone $41,667 division of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series in 1:54.4 by 3-1/4 lengths over Turtle Dove (Mattias Melander) and These Days (Todd McCarthy) in the middle of the make-up card. Richard "Nifty" Norman trains the Chapter Seven-Dabra Day filly for owners Melvin Hartman of Ottawa, Ont., and Little E LLC of New York City, New York.
The make-up card also included a $20,833 Kentucky Golden Rod division won by Hanna Hill (Andy McCarthy), who lifted from a shuffle towards the top to win by three lengths in 1:54.3. Petter Engblom trains the daughter of Gimpanzee out of multiple-stakes winner Caprice Hill.
Live harness racing at The Red Mile resumes on Monday, Aug. 10 with a 15-race card headlined by Kentucky Championship Series divisions for three-year-old trotting males and three-year-old pacing fillies. First-race post time is 1 p.m.
(With files from The Red Mile; photo of Funky Buddha winning on Aug. 9)