Setyoursightshigh continued on her roll as she took a fourth consecutive stakes win in the first of two $109,589 Kentucky Sire Stakes (KYSS) divisions for two-year-old trotting fillies at The Red Mile on Monday, Aug. 11.
Leaving from the rail, Setyoursightshigh was in third for nearly three-quarters of the mile as Godusa (Dan Noble) assumed control from post six in a field reduced to six after two scratches. Godusa set splits of :30, :59 and 1:27.4 with the first-over Setyoursightshigh alongside her at the third station. Carve (Andrew McCarthy) and Godusa both produced valiant efforts with :26.3 and :26.4 final fractions, respectively, but Setyoursightshigh kicked home in :26.2 to prevail by 1-3/4 lengths in 1:54.1. Carve finished second over Godusa.
Bred by Kentuckiana Farms LLC, Setyoursightshigh has now won four of five starts for trainer Marcus Melander. She has won the Next Generation, her KYSS Final at Oak Grove, and two KYSS legs at The Red Mile. She is owned by Heights Stable, Mantorp LLC, AMG Stable Inc., and K Kjellgren Livs AB Inc. The $67,568 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale purchase, a daughter of In Range-Special Interest, has banked $293,133. She paid $3.54 to win.
The victory completed a grand slam for Melander, who won one division of each series on the card. The trainer, coming off a career-best year, has racked up 60 victories this season at a strike rate of 20.3 per cent. This month, accomplishments by his trainees include finishing second and third in the Hambletonian and winning the Cashman Memorial, a New Jersey Sire Stakes Final, and legs of sire stakes in New York and Kentucky.
Yannick Gingras steered Leading Lady to a new lifetime mark of 1:53.1 for trainer Nancy Takter in the first KYSS division as the public’s fifth selection in the field of six. The daughter of Walner-Muscle Dolly sat comfortably in third position after leaving from post three. Favourite Victorianas Secret (Scott Zeron) led the field through fractions of :29.2, :58, and 1:26.3 with Days Away (Jason Bartlett) tracking in second. As the fillies turned for home, Gingras put Leading Lady to a drive, and she marched down the stretch with a :26 final quarter to win by three-quarters of a length. Days Away finished second while Victorianas Secret took the show spot.
Leading Lady atoned for a sixth-place finish in the New Jersey Sire Stakes Final in her last start with Monday's win. The filly, bred by Marvin and Lynn Katz and Al Libfeld, is now two-for-three and has banked $71,918 for owners Black Horse Racing, Marvin Katz, and Herb Liverman. She was a $148,649 selection at last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. Leading Lady provided her supporters with $14.62 at the windows.
The 16-race card also included three $41,096 divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series, five $20,548 splits of the Kentucky Golden Rod Series, and four $13,699 cuts of the Kentucky Wildcat Series. All races were part of the second legs of their respective series.
Opulence ($14.74) and Andrew McCarthy took the first split of the Commonwealth by a neck in 1:54.3 for trainer Tony Alagna. Creator (Dunn) was second and French Echo (Andy Miller) finished third. Owned by Princess Dayna Stables and Riverview Racing LLC., the daughter of Walner-Evident Beauty was bred by Melvin Hartman, Little E LLC, Steve Stewart, and Maumee River Stables.
Zeron and favoured Lainey W ($5.98) defeated Zaheera (Andrew McCarthy) by a nose in 1:54 in the second division. Rani Hanover (Jason Bartlett) completed the top three. Trained by Melander, Lainey W is owned by Brittany Farms LLC and Marvin and Lynn Katz. The daughter of Bar Hopping-The Black Beauty was bred by Kentuckiana Farms and Perry Soderberg.
Dunn and Lindy In My Dreams ($3.38) took the third division by a neck in 1:57 over Pub Party (Tim Tetrick) with Numanthia (Nicholas Roussel) third. The daughter of Ready For Moni-Lindy Of My Dreams, a Lindy Farms of Connecticut homebred, broke her maiden for trainer Domenico Cecere.
R Perfect Goo ($6.80) won the final Golden Rod contest to complete a triple for trainer John Butenschoen. The filly, driven by Tim Tetrick, finished strongly to score off a second-over trip in 1:55.1. She was a length clear of You And Me As (Tony Hall), who took second over Jolene Hall (Anthony MacDonald). R Perfect Goo, a Googoo Gaagaa-Asixpakfromperfect filly bred by Robert Detweiler, races for M&L of Delaware/Armitage Farm.
Butenschoen also took Wildcat divisions with Harbor Of Grace ($11.94), and R Zee ($38.84). The conditioner, closing in on 2,000 career victories, has tallied 39 wins this season and has won at a rate of 17.3 per cent. He was three-for-four on the card with his other starter, Malibu Candy, finishing second.
The other Golden Rod winners were Fabulous Serenity ($36.22) with Tyler Jones aboard in 1:57, Guinevere ($3.82) in 1:55.2 with Dunn driving, Art Of The State ($7.44) in 1:56.4 driven by Zeron, and All Fancy Like ($4.24) for Dunn in 1:55.
Our Secret (Zeron, $2.92), Harbor Of Grace (Andrew McCarthy), R Zee (Zeron), and Burningforyourlove (Tetrick, $35.14) won the Wildcat divisions.
On Wednesday, The Red Mile will offer a 16-race card that features two $80,000 USD second-round divisions of the Kentucky Championship Series, one for sophomore pacing fillies and the other for three-year-old male trotters. The race schedule includes two $30,000 USD leg-two divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series, five $15,000 USD second-round groups of the Kentucky Golden Rod Series, and two $10,000 USD second-leg splits of the Kentucky Wildcat Series.
Mr Mouton seeks to collect the third win of his career and is fresh off his 1:50.1 world record-equalling effort on Aug. 4 in the first round of this series. The son of Chapter Seven-Burberry is conditioned by Ake Svanstedt and will be driven by Dexter Dunn.
Racing at The Red Mile continues on Tuesday at 1 p.m.
(With files from The Red Mile)