Karl remained undefeated in his brief career and Gifted One broke her maiden in their respective $80,000 fourth round divisions of the Kentucky Championship Series for two-year-old male trotters and rookie female pacers on Sunday, Sept. 3 at The Red Mile as part of a 14-race nighttime card that was conducted under the lights for the first time since 2019.
Those divisions also went to the gate with $30,000 divisions in the fourth round of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series and $15,000 fourth round divisions of the Kentucky Golden Rod Series.
Karl and pilot Yannick Gingras commenced their mile from post position seven in the ninth race. The son of Tactical Landing-Avalicious was the overwhelming favourite in the field of seven two-year-old male trotters due to his powerful performance in the previous leg in this series on Aug. 20 when he easily stopped the clock in 1:52.1.
This appearance, however, was a bit more subdued, yet with the same result: victory. The colt and his driver settled in third position as Vocalize (Todd McCarthy) clicked off the first fraction of the mile in :29.3. That’s when Dame Good Time (Scott Zeron) took control and established a split of :58.1 for the half-mile. Vocalize and his reinsman decided the pocket spot was not where they wanted to be and regained the lead after three-quarters in 1:26.4.
Gingras shook the lines at Karl heading into the stretch and the colt surged to the lead off a second-over trip to best the closing Topmost (John De Long) by 2-1/4 lengths to improve his record to a perfect three-for-three. Vocalize dug in to hold third.
Trained by Nancy Takter, Karl was purchased for $135,000 at last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale by his trainer, Christina Takter, Black Horse Racing, Crawford Farms Racing and Bender Sweden Inc.
The colt was bred by Crawford Farms and is a half-sibling to $238,085 earner Lucius Vorenus. His dam earned $202,438 during her career.
Karl paid $2.30 to his supporters and has earned $90,000.
Gifted One visited the winner’s circle for the first time from five starts in the Championship Series event for freshman filly pacers. Todd McCarthy guided the daughter of Captaintreacherous-Creative Power to the pocket seat after the duo commenced their mile. They were content to remain in that position as Capytreach (Zeron) went straight to the lead and clicked off fractions of :28.3, :57.3 and 1:26.2.
Gifted One simply popped the pocket in the lane and paced to the wire to collect her first win by a half-length. Asweetbeachhere (Atlee Bender) was second with a sizzling :25.3 final quarter panel after rallying from last. Capytreach was third.
A Tony Alagna trainee, Gifted One has been knocking on the door but had the misfortune of chasing rising star Geocentric in her last three races. She the first foal from her dam, a sister to double millionaire Western Fame and top three-year-old pacing filly Sylvia Hanover. She was purchased by Robert Leblanc, Joe Sbrocco, Brad Grant, Pryde and JAF Racing for $180,000 at last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale.
She was bred by Brittany Farms, Marvin Katz and Lynn Katz.
Gifted One’s record now stands at 1-2-0 from five starts and she has collected $84,000 in purse money.
The filly paid $12.90 to win.
Jus A Miki Moment, Bright Star win Commonwealth Series divisions
Jus A Miki Moment (Tim Tetrick) sprung a mild upset at and broke her maiden in her sixth career engagement in the $30,000 Kentucky Commonwealth Series division for two-year-old filly pacers in 1:50.3.
Trained by Jennifer Bongiorno, Jus A Miki Moment is a daughter of Always B Miki and World Of Delight. The filly was purchased for $53,000 by Joseph Di Scala Jr., Zippett Racing Stable, T L P Racing Stable and JAF Racing at the 2022 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale.
Jus A Miki Moment was bred by Roll The Dice Stable and Brenda Reno.
She possesses a resume of 1-1-1 from those six outings and has earned $25,100.
The filly paid $29.06 to win.
Bright Star (T. McCarthy) also broke his maiden with a triumph in 1:54.3 in fourth leg Commonwealth Series action for freshman colt trotters. The son of Muscle Hill-Morningstar took advantage of costly breaks from the two favourites, International Law, (Bender) and Fly By (Zeron), to come home first at odds of 15-1 for trainer Alagna. Pick Pocket (Peter Wrenn) was second and Show Me (Andy Miller) was third.
Bred by Brittany Farms, Bright Star is co-owned by his breeder, Pryde Stables Inc., Caviart Farms and Plouffe And Riverview.
Bright Star is a half-brother to Starita ($307,696) and was purchased at the 2022 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. He now has a record of 1-2-1 in his four appearances and a bankroll of $33,600.
His granddam is 2006 Hambletonian Oaks winner Passionate Glide.
Bright Star paid $32.74 to win.
McCarthy, Wrenn score twice in Golden Rod Series
Todd McCarthy and Wrenn steered Direction (1:52; $4.22) and Odds On Live Ball (1:53; $6.90) in the two $15,000 fourth round divisions of the Kentucky Golden Rod Series for two-year-old filly pacers. McCarthy collected his fourth sire stakes triumph on the day — tops among the day's drivers — when he drove Lockheed Martin ($3.38) to victory in the first of three divisions for freshman male trotters in 1:55.1.
Wrenn took the second split with Swan Explosion ($5.54) in 1:56.1. Dexter Dunn was victorious in the third division with Mont Saint Michel ($4.98) in 1:56.2.
The Red Mile offers a rich buffet of wagering items including a 20-cent Pick-6 with 15 per cent takeout, a 50-cent Pick-5 with an industry low 12 per cent takeout, a Super Hi-5 15 per cent takeout, and Pick-4 events, with a $10,000 guaranteed pool in conjunction with the U.S. Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering Program. The Red Mile races on a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday schedule with a 1 p.m. EDT post time through Oct. 8. Free program pages are available at redmileracing.com in addition to race replays and a daily livestream of each card.
(The Red Mile)