Hard Four catapulted from a second-over trip to reel in and collar pacesetter Seine and win the $111,111 Kentucky Championship Series second preliminary for two-year-old pacing colts and geldings on Tuesday, Aug. 11 at The Red Mile.
Leaving from post three, Hard Four, driven by Marvin Luna, secured a seat in the middle of the pack while 9-5 chalk Seine (Joe Bongiorno) bolted for the lead to a :26.3 first quarter. Bongiorno rated the leader’s speed through a :55 half and 1:23.2 three-quarters all while Luna secured a tow from first-up Wishawave (Todd McCarthy) heading through the last turn. Wishawave wavered rounding for home, prompting Luna to lift Hard Four off cover and lay aim on Seine through the long stretch. Hard Four built momentum and kept plugging to reach the beam a neck better than Seine in 1:50.1. Blue Eyed Stranger (Yannick Gingras) gave chase off a pocket trip for third.
Vernon Beachy trains Hard Four, a gelding by Stay Hungry-Throw The Dice, for owner-breeder Ryan Smith. The gelding broke his maiden with the win, coming in the sixth start of his career, while pushing his bankroll to $96,220. He paid $37.76 to win.
Tuesday’s card also featured three $41,667 divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series for two-year-old pacing colts and geldings. Night Agent (Andy McCarthy, 1:50.2, $7.56), a Joe Holloway pupil graduating from the Kentucky Wildcat Series, persisted through a slight shuffle up front to post a two-length win over closing Rumble And Sway (Tim Tetrick) to take top honours among the three dashes. Blazin Lou (Tim Tetrick, 1:51.1, $21.06) and Just Perfect Stuff (Joey Putnam, 1:51.4, $15.84) both converted from close stalking trips to take the other Commonwealth divisions.
Freshman pacing males also contested three $20,833 Kentucky Golden Rod divisions. Reflector (Andy McCarthy, 1:52.4, $11.94), an offspring of Breeders Crown-winning mare Reflect With Me, opened the card with a win in the first division. Rowdy Station (Dexter Dunn, 1:52;, $4.24) and Prowler (Terry Skinner, 1:52.4, $24.10) took the other contests.
Strong rains entered the Lexington area late in the day, forcing The Red Mile to cancel the last two races on the 16-race card. Live harness racing resumes on Wednesday with a 16-race program headlined by the $80,000 USD Kentucky Championship Series second preliminary for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings. First-race post time is 1 p.m. (EDT).
(The Red Mile)