While under hazy skies on Monday, Aug. 4 at The Red Mile, Mr Mouton brought the heat as he matched the world record for three-year-old trotting geldings in the first round of the $111,111 Kentucky Championship Series for three-year-old male trotters, while Unreasonable remained red-hot in the first leg for sophomore pacing fillies.
Mr Mouton, driven by Dexter Dunn, parlayed a trip from the 12-hole to victory in the Championship leg for sophomore male trotters. Favoured Monserrate (Yannick Gingras) was second with Gimpanzee Dancer (Andy McCarthy) following the top two under the wire.
Trained by Ake Svanstedt, Mr Mouton is a son of Chapter Seven-Burberry and the final time, 1:50.1, was a new lifetime best and matched the world record for three-year-old trotting geldings established by Crystal Fashion (2018) and Seismic Wave (2018).
Mr Mouton, came off the gate in 10th position while Yannick G Kemp (Todd McCarthy) established the first split of :28.1. Mountcastle (Scott Zeron) worked his to the top before being challenged to the outside by Whiskey Wow (Pat Curtain) as the tempo quickened to the half in :54.4. The battle raged on the final turn as the lead two raced well clear before Mountcastle forced a tiring Whiskey Wow to retreat at three-quarters in 1:22.
Meanwhile, Mr Mouton had steadily advanced from 10th, to eighth, to fifth and to third by the time the horses were preparing for the final drive to the finish line.
Following the cover of Monserrate, Mr Mouton kicked home in :27.2 to outsprint his rival and get to the wire first by 1-1/2 lengths.
Owned by Knuttson Trotting Inc., Little E LLC., Stolz Geiger and Jorgen Sparredal Inc., Mr Mouton was bred by R. Kevin Greenfield.
Mr Mouton paid $6.72 at the windows. His record now stands at 6-3-2-0 lifetime with $142,682 in the bank.
In the filly pace, Marcus Miller and Unreasonable were simply too strong for their competition in the field of seven and stopped the clock in 1:48.4 to tally the fourth consecutive victory for the daughter of Huntsville-Roaring To Go. Reckless Abandon (Todd McCarthy) was second and Caviart Delight (Scott Zeron) was third.
Trained by Erv Miller, Unreasonable was assigned the rail and settled in fourth while Champagne Room (Andy McCarthy) went straight to front. That filly set the first split of :26.3, then relinquished control to the public’s second choice Looksgoodinloulou (Yannick Gingras). That filly took the field through a half in :54 and three-quarters in 1:21.3.
As the fillies reached the final bend, Looksgoodinloulou and Champagne Room began to fade from their efforts while Unreasonable was ready to roll. She went to the front at the top of the lane and uncorked a :26.3 last panel to have her picture taken.
Bred by Steve Stewart and Frank Chick, Unreasonable improved her career resume to 17-8-2-3 and has banked $421,349. The filly is 6-5-1 this season and is on a four-race win streak. Her only loss was on June 24 in a Sire Stakes leg at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming and Hotel by a head.
The filly paid $4.50 to win as the favourite.
In the first $41,667 Commonwealth Series division for sophomore male trotters, Global Sensation (Dexter Dunn) bested six rivals and collected his second consecutive triumph in 1:52 for trainer Marcus Melander. Onemore Volo (Tim Tetrick) was second and Ketel One Up (Andy McCarthy) was third.
Bred by Al Libfeld, Marvin Katz and Sam Goldband, Global Sensation is by Chapter Seven and out of Fly Angel Fly. He is owned by Holly Lane Stud East, Daniel Plouffe and Jean Plouffe.
Global Sensation paid $3.56 to win as the favourite.
Favoured Found (Todd McCarthy) defeated Hip Shot (Dexter Dunn) by a head in 1:49.4 for conditioner Brett Pelling. Accede (Gingras) was third in the first leg for three-year-old filly pacers.
The daughter of Always B Miki-Geothermal was bred by Diamond Creek Farm and competes for their racing entity.
Found paid $3.24 as the public’s top choice.
My Degenerate (Andy Miller) hit the finish line in front of favourite Taipan As (Tim Tetrick) and Precise Landing (Dexter Dunn) in 1:51.1 for trainer Julie Miller in the second division for three-year-old male trotters.
The son of Muscle Hill-Decadence was bred by K R Breeding LLC and Preferred Equine Marketing Inc. He is owned by Knuttson Trotting, Little E LLC, Lindy Farms and Andy Miller Stable.
My Degenerate paid $12.24 to win at odds of 5-1.
A trio of $20,833 Golden Rod divisions were contested for three-year-old trotting colts, won by Ake Palema (Scott Zeron, $3.12) in 1:53.2, Brulee (Andy Miller, $10.54) in 1:54.4 and Uno (Tim Tetrick, $4.32) in the third and fastest in 1:50.2.
The two Golden Rod splits for three-year-old pacing fillies were won by Karma (Yannick Gingras, $6.90) in 1:50 and Bytheliteofthemoon (Dexter Dunn, $11.34) in 1:51.2.
Additionally, there was one $13,889 Wildcat split for each group, with An Angel Somewhere (Jafari Frazier, $8.90) taking the filly pace division in 1:52 and Forward Path (Scott Zeron, $7.34) winning the colt trot in 1:53.4.
On Wednesday, Aug. 6, Endurance will seek to claim his fourth consecutive race in the sole $80,000 USD second-round division of the Kentucky Championship Series at The Red Mile. The 14-race card will also provide three $30,000 USD second-round divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series, three $15,000 USD second-round divisions of the Golden Rod Series and two $10,000 USD second-round contests of Kentucky Wildcat Series. All events are for freshman male trotters.
(With files from The Red Mile)