The Red Mile hosted the third leg of Kentucky Sire Stakes (KYSS) for two-year-old pacers over a track rated 'good' as they made their last attempt at points to qualify for the $2-million night of finals on Sept. 16.
Colts kicked the card off with a 15-1 upset when Major Deception scored in 1:51.3. Driver Brett Miller put the Captaintreacherous colt from Loving Caroline into play early but yielded for the pocket to Bettors Wish as they neared the :56 half. Miller then slid out for the drive through the :26.3 final quarter to win over Pyro, closing at 45-1, and Bettors Wish in a photo. Race-favourite Hurrikane Emperor was carried very, very wide off the last turn then rallied for fourth.
Tony Alagna trains the winner for In The Gym & Martha Frank Stables, Rob LeBlanc, Steve Head and Joe Sbrocco. He was a $130,000 Lexington Select Yearling Sale buy from Diamond Creek Farms.
Captain Trevor continued the Captaintreacherous parade to the winner’s circle and completed his sweep of the three KYSS preliminary legs with an on-the-front 1:52.3 win for Andy McCarthy. Sent out from post seven, he cleared stablemate US Captain just past the :27.4 quarter and rated a :57 half as Cant Beach That ranged up gradually through 1 1:25 third-quarter. Captain Trevor then moved away from that rival with a :27.3 closing quarter for the victory. American Mercury closed well to get up for third.
Captain Trevor was a $75,000 Harrisburg purchase for owners Brittany Farms, Marvin Katz, Brad Grant and Captain Trevor Racing. Bay’s Stable and Riverview Breeding sold the colt as a yearling at the auction.
Blood Money and McCarthy won the third colt division from off the pace in 1:52.3. Race-favourite Magic Joe Lindy parked to the quarter by Egomania and stretched out through a sub :27 second quarter to clear command by the half in :55.1. Magic Joe Lindy faced a hard rush from Caviart Rockland as Blood Money enjoyed a perfect second-over trip. Once in the stretch, McCarthy fanned his mount wide to take over and then held late-charging Waterway off for the win. Yacht Week rallied for third at 99-1.
Adam Bowden’s Diamond Creek Racing owns the homebred son of Sweet Lou from Blood Diamond who won for the second time in the series.
Beautyonthebeach completed a Daily Double sweep for driver Brett Miller and a personal sweep of the series legs with an effortless 1:52.1 mile in the first filly division. Bet down to 1-5, Beautyonthebeach bounded along on an easy lead, shook off token pressure from Edge Of Eternity then sprinted off in a :27.1 end to the mile. Louphoria finished second and Hurrikanekrazylady won a tight photo for third.
Jim Avritt, Jr. bred and owns Beautyonthebeach while Gregg McNair trains the Somebeachsomewhere filly from Precocious Beauty.
Dexter Dunn put a winning steer on Summer Charm for trainer Ron Burke and owner Tom Dillon to capture the second filly split. After leading the field around the first turn, Dunn released race-favourite Blue Ivy for a few steps then retook just past the :28.3 opening split. From there, he rated the Bettors Delight filly from Lover Of Art and called on her as they spun around the second turn to open a lead that carried them to the wire in 1:53.4. Blue Ivy cut into that margin but fell short to settle for place while Margret Hill closed a bit late for third.
Brittany Farms bred the $60,000 Lexington Yearling Sale purchase.
The KYSS championship card on Sept. 16 has a first-race post time of 3 p.m. The Fayette County Fair will run from noon until 6 p.m. Admission is free and the fair will include food trucks, local craft breweries, bourbon tastings and an arts and crafts market.
Several music acts will play on two stages (one inside and one outside), with rising country star and Lexington-native Walker Montgomery, Avery Crabtree and Conch Republic among the performers. Montgomery is slated to perform on the outdoor stage from 4-6 p.m. The racing program will kick off with a horse parade of various breeds and the Harness Horse Youth Foundation will offer hands-on equine experiences.
Live racing resumes Sunday, Sept. 9 with the three-year-old trotters and pacers going forth in their last leg of the KYSS.
(With files from The Red Mile)