Bluegrass action is set to conclude on Sunday (Oct. 3) at The Red Mile with a nine-division extravaganza that features some of harness racing's top three-year-olds on a 14-race card.
Division one of the $253,000 Bluegrass Three-Year-Old Colt & Gelding Pace opens the afternoon stakes contests with Cane Pace winner Rockyroad Hanover looking to get back into the winner’s circle following a sixth in his Little Brown Jug elimination and, before that, a fifth in the North America Cup. Dexter Dunn steers the Tony Alagna pupil from Post 5 as he faces another in search of a rebound in One Eight Hundred, the Nancy Takter trainee who since losing a hopple in the Meadowlands Pace has struggled to replicate the speed he showed earlier in the season.
The second division of the Bluegrass features a rematch between Ohio star Charlie May and last season’s freshman champion Perfect Sting. When last meeting, Charlie May landed the edge on Perfect Sting before his controversial disqualification in the $700,000 Meadowlands Pace final, which elevated Perfect Sting into second. This time around, Charlie May enters from a 1:55.2 breeze in an Ohio Breeders Championship while Perfect Sting also exits Delaware from a narrow loss in the Little Brown Jug final. Brett Miller reunites with Charlie May for conditioner Steve Carter from Post 3 while David Miller has the drive on Perfect Sting for trainer Joe Holloway from Post 8.
Abuckabett Hanover enters the final division of the Bluegrass on what appears as a comeback, having romped a $139,684 Simcoe division in 1:49.1 as the odds-on choice. The once-prominent two-year-old has faced bad luck over the last few months, including an interference break in the Meadowlands Pace, a break before the start of the Max Hempt Memorial and a trip from a difficult spot in the North America Cup. Andrew McCarthy remains with the Tony Alagna trainee from Post 4 as he encounters Scott Cox trainee Chase H Hanover on an upswing, having won his last two races — a $41,850 Keystone Classic division and the $130,000 Jennas Beach Boy at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. Ronnie Wrenn Jr. has the drive behind Chase H Hanover from Post 7.
Following the start of the Bluegrass for pacing glamour boys, sophomore trotting colts and geldings will get underway in the first of two divisions for the $208,000 Bluegrass Stakes. The opening split draws Yonkers Trot champ Johan Palema into post 7 as he tries for his first stakes win since taking that classic event back in July. Yannick Gingras pilots the Ake Svanstedt trainee, entering from a second-place finish in the $253,000 Pennsylvania Sires Stakes final, and competes in a field which includes Goodtimes elimination winner Locatelli from Post 1, late-season upstart Balenciaga from Post 4, Stanley Dancer Memorial winner Sonofamistery from Post 5 and Kentucky Commonwealth Series runner-up Jula Muscle Pack from Post 6.
Canadian Trotting Classic champ Ahundreddollarbill leads the other division of the Bluegrass, shipping south from his Grand Circuit score in a 1:52 mile in rein to current pilot Andrew McCarthy. The Tony Alagna trainee will start from Post 7 and rematches with runner-up In Range, who went to Harrah’s Hoosier Park following the Canadian Trotting Classic and finished second in the $100,000 Phil Langley Memorial. Tim Tetrick drives In Range for trainer Marcus Melander from Post 4 in the nine-horse affair.
Filly stakes action gets underway towards the midpoint of the card with the first of three divisions for the $223,600 Bluegrass Three-Year-Old Filly Trot. Altar, the Nancy Takter speedster who tore through the Kentucky Commonwealth Series while taking a 1:50.4 badge in the process, returns to Grand Circuit company after having last raced at the open level in the $142,000 Del Miller Memorial. Dexter Dunn will be in the bike from Post 3 as she starts just one slot to the right of Tony Alagna trainee Beltassima, who finished second in the $250,000 Kentucky Championship Series final. Andrew McCarthy pilots that filly from Post 2 in a field also including Buckette winner Pub Crawl from Post 4, Del Miller Memorial winner You Ato Dream from Post 5 and Hambletonian Oaks runner-up Iteration from Post 6.
Anoka Hanover returns to the site of her breakthrough miles while also attempting to reassert herself as a divisional player in the second split of the Bluegrass. The Noel Daley trainee has been absent from the track since scratching sick from a Pennsylvania Sires Stakes split on July 31. She enters this race an 8-1 shot on the morning line off a 1:56 qualifier at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Sept. 26. Todd McCarthy sticks with Anoka Hanover from Post 6 while she encounters a field led by Ohio Sires Stakes and champ Herculisa, who set a world record of 1:52.3 when winning the Ohio Sires Stakes final at Northfield Park on Sept. 5. She draws the pylon post as the 9-5 favourite on the morning line with Brett Miller in the bike for trainer Virgil Morgan Jr.
The final division of the Bluegrass draws an arguably even field of nine, with the top four on the morning line separated by few points. Piper Hanover has the early favourite honours as a 4-1 listing off four on-the-board finishes in the Kentucky Championship Series, including a third in the $250,000 final. Andrew McCarthy drives the Tony Alagna trainee from Post 6. The field also includes Kentucky Commonwealth runner-up Eazy Pass, starting from the pylon post, and a pair exiting the $115,000 Moni Maker at Harrah’s Hoosier Park: runner-up Aunt Irene, who scores from Post 5, and third-place finisher Darlene Hanover, starting from Post 8.
Sophomore pacing fillies compete in a single dash of the $150,000 Bluegrass Stakes, which draws a four-pronged matchup in the stacked 10-horse contest. Kentucky Championship Series winner Blue Diamond Eyes lands Post 7 off her 1:47.4 victory over Thebeachiscalling, who starts from Post 10, while New York Sire Stakes champ Test Of Faith will try to rebound off a second-place finish in the Jugette from Post 3. Richard “Nifty” Norman also sends his star duo, with Fire Start Hanover landing Post 9 off a 1:50.1 victory in the $335,750 Fan Hanover and Shady Daisy winner Grace Hill starting from Post 4 on a five-race win streak, which includes a win over her stablemate in the $250,000 James Lynch Memorial and a victory over Blue Diamond Eyes in the $253,000 Pennsylvania Sires Stakes final.
Each division of the Bluegrass Three-Year-Old Colt & Gelding Pace is presented by The Captaintreacherous Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farm. The Bluegrass Three-Year-Old Colt & Gelding Trot is sponsored by The Greenshoe Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farm, while the Bluegrass Three-Year-Old Filly Trot is sponsored by The Bar Hopping Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farm, and the Bluegrass Three-Year-Old Filly Pace is presented by The Papi Rob Hanover Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farm.
Preceding the cavalcade of racing on Sunday is a $12,500 event featuring drivers and trainers on foot in a 50-yard relay Dash for Cash as part of the Breeders Crown Charity Challenge, presented by Libfeld/Katz Breeding Partnerships. Four teams will race a total 100 yards, with one team member lugging a sulky carrying the other for 50 yards before trading positions for the last 50, for their respective charities. First place will receive $4,000, second gets $3,250, third gets $2,750 and fourth will receive $2,500.
“David Millertime” has the inside, with driver David Miller and trainer Julie Miller racing for enCourage Kids Foundation. “Yannickatnite Gingras” starts as No. 2, with driver Yannick Gingras and trainer Sarah Svanstedt racing for NJ Pandemic Relief Fund. “Top Dunn Dex” is No. 3, with driver Dexter Dunn and trainer Nancy Takter racing for John Theurer Cancer Center, and “Andymccrtheoryofrelativity” is No. 4, with driver Andrew McCarthy and trainer Makenna Pinske racing for Special Olympics New Jersey.
The special charity race is slated to go at 12:30 p.m. (EDT), while the Sunday matinee gets underway at 1:00 p.m.
(Red Mile)