After having shown promise and won conditioned races over Mohawk Racetrack this summer, the Ronnie MacLean-trained Bestofbothworlds went down to Lexington's Red Mile looking to put her best foot forward -- and last night she did
just that.
The three-year-old Cambest filly moved into the care of conditioner Ron Burke for a $15,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes test over the famed one-mile oval, and the bay lass showed all that she can step with the best.
Having started from Post 7 with Brian Sears at the controls, Bestofbothworlds settled into the four hole as the speed up front was sizzling away. The opening quarter and half were cut in :26.2 and :54.2 before 'The White Knight' and the sitting miss took dead-aim at the engine.
Sears and Bestofbothworlds were on the move along the final turn and were leading by the time they clicked off the third timer in a solid 1:22.4. Coming home with a 28-second final panel, the duo went on to post the one-length win in a new life's best 1:50.4.
"She's been racing well for us on the WEG circuit, so I'm not really surprised with that effort last night," MacLean told Trot Insider. "If you look back at her lines she was good when she won the consolation for the Town Pro Series at Mohawk before getting locked in along the rail the week after (July 22)."
The Frederick Woolford and Park Lane Stable-owned filly would go on to rebound at Mohawk on July 29 when a Post 9 start was converted to a one-length win in 1:52.3. After a three-week freshener, Bestofbothworlds returned to Mohawk on August 19 and had another outside assignment. After having started from the outside Post 10 and having made the front before releasing an attacker, the filly was locked in again at the wire and finished second by one length in 1:52.2.
"We're going to race her in the ($300,000) Kentucky Sire Stakes finals at the Red Mile on (Sunday) September 12," MacLean explained. "After that, she will be returning to the WEG circuit."
MacLean told Trot Insider that he is currently leaning toward racing the filly until roughly December at which point a stakes schedule will be put together for Bestofbothworlds' four-year-old season.