Winnpanzee collected her third consecutive triumph as she went back-to-back in the Kentucky Championship Series, winning the $109,589 fourth and final leg for three-year-old trotting fillies on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at The Red Mile.
Since joining the Ron Burke barn last month, Winnpanzee has hit her best stride with three wins in four starts and a step up in class from the Commonwealth Series. Steered by Yannick Gingras, the daughter of Gimpanzee and New York champion Winndevie defeated nine rivals in her latest appearance.
Leaving from post two, Winnpanzee trotted in fourth through the half as defending Kentucky champion Aperfect Annie (Todd McCarthy) led the field through splits of :28 and :56.4. Torrisi (Tim Tetrick) was positioned perfectly in second.
As Aperfect Annie held her lead through three-quarters in 1:25.1, Winnpanzee and Torrisi were gearing up for their drive to the wire. Gingras and Tetrick asked their charges for their best coming off the final turn, and they responded. As Aperfect Annie dropped back to third, Winnpanzee placed her head in front of Torrisi and lengthened her margin to three-quarters of a length as the fillies strode to the finish line in 1:52.4. Torrisi was second with Stash Some Cash (Andy Miller) coming home third.
Bred by Ola Yoder, Winnpanzee is the first foal out of her dam. Burke Racing Stable LLC, Brad Grant, and Weaver Bruscemi LLC acquired the filly less than two months ago, and she has proven to be an educated selection. Winnpanzee was winless in five starts at two, and three of her five wins from 12 starts this year have been for her new connections. With a career record of 17-5-5-2 and $213,879 in the bank, Winnpanzee paid $3.70 to win.
Also on the card was a $41,096 Kentucky Commonwealth Series event, three $20,548 Kentucky Golden Rod Series divisions, and a single $13,699 Kentucky Wildcat Series dash, all fourth-leg contests for sophomore filly trotters.
After finishing second, fourth, and fourth in the first three Commonwealth Series legs, Tactical Moni (Dexter Dunn) won the final round in a lifetime-best 1:52.1 by a head over favourite Kadena (Andrew McCarthy). Best Friends Girl (Dave Miller) completed the trifecta. Competing as a homebred for Moni Maker Stable, Tactical Moni is a daughter of Tactical Landing-All Our Moni. Unraced as a freshman, the filly is 8-5-1-0 and has earned $73,158 under the guidance of trainer Domenico Cecere. She paid $14.98 to win.
Belmont (Dunn) led the field from gate to wire and held on by a neck in 1:53.4 to win the first Golden Rod Series split. It was the third consecutive visit to the winner’s circle in this series for the daughter of Gimpanzee-With Me Always for trainer Marcus Melander. She is now five-for-13 lifetime for owners SRF Stable and Holly Lane Stud East Ltd. She returned $4 to win.
Gingras scored his first stakes victory of the day with 15-1 shot Dreams Come Easy ($33.76) in the second division in 1:53.1. Dreams Come Easy, a daughter of Readly Express-Behold The Dream, is trained by Brendan Johnson for Peninsula Farm Inc., Matt Franklin, and Brian Gillespie. She has now won two of 13 career starts.
Rita Dawns Halo took her second straight win in the Golden Rod Series as she took the last split by 2-3/4 lengths in 1:54.1. Zeron piloted the daughter of Googoo Gaagaa-Be Bop Sally for trainer Tony Alagna. The filly is now two-for-six for owner Ken Jacobs.
Court And Spark ($8.30) won the Wildcat leg in 1:55.3 for driver Marvin Luna trainer Bob Stewart.
(With files from The Red Mile)