Grand Circuit competition at The Red Mile will wrap on Sunday (Oct. 10) in a stakes-stacked 12-race card capped by the 129th edition of the Kentucky Futurity, which goes for a purse of $561,000 and is sponsored by Hunterton Farms, Stoner Manor Inc. and Menhammar Stuteri AB.
A 12-horse dash aligns for the Kentucky classic. Trainer Åke Svanstedt again comes with a strong contingent despite the absence of Hambletonian winner Captain Corey, who sustained a season-ending injury in late summer. He sends a battalion of five — Fly Light (Post 3), Mon Amour (Post 4), Delayed Hanover (Post 7), Ambassador Hanover (Post 9) and Johan Palema (Post 12). Between them, Fly Light and Mon Amour have wins over The Red Mile in Bluegrass action last week, Delayed Hanover set a world record over this track as a two-year-old, Ambassador Hanover finished third in the Hambletonian and Johan Palema won the Yonkers Trot back in June.
The field for the Futurity also includes Dancinginthedark M and Cuatro De Julio, who finished one-two in the Kentucky Championship final on Sept. 19. Dancinginthedark M starts as part of a three-pronged attack for conditioner Marcus Melander; his other entrants are In Range (Post 8) and Sonofamistery (Post 10). Brian Sears pilots Dancinginthedark M from the pylon post, directly inside of Cuatro De Julio in rein to Lucas Wallin for conditioner Marie Ortolan Bar.
Really Fast and Ahundreddollarbill, the latter of which supplemented for $75,000, come into the Futurity attempting to rebound. Really Fast will try to return to the early season promise he showed following several tough luck miles in the Kentucky Championship Series, though he enters this event off a closing second-place finish in the Bluegrass. Canadian Trotting Classic champ Ahundreddollarbill travelled a wide trip over the "slop" in the Bluegrass to finish third.
Ahundreddollarbill’s regular pilot, Andrew McCarthy, will take another assignment in sticking with trainer Greg Wright Jr. and his pupil Jujubee, who entered the event through a $75,000 supplemental fee. The Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champ emerged onto the national stake scene on Hambletonian day with an explosive pocket pop that stopped the clock in 1:49.4 and lands Post 5 in the overflow field.
The sister event to the afternoon’s feature, the 56th Kentucky Filly Futurity, also draws an overflow field and is sponsored by Crawford Farms. Hambletonian Oaks winner Bella Bellini lands Post 5 for trainer Richard “Nifty” Norman and driver Dexter Dunn off a second-place finish in the $327,060 Elegantimage Final at Woodbine Mohawk Park. She competes in a group that includes Ohio Sires Stakes champ Herculisa from Post 1 (a $50,000 supplement to the race), Kentucky Championship winner Empressive Hill from post 10, Bluegrass split runner-up You Ato Dream and Contested Hanover from Posts 6 and 12 respectively, and Buckette winner Pub Crawl from Post 7. Katies Lucky Day, starting from Post 11, also supplemented into this event for $50,000 and enters off a third-place finish in the Elegantimage.
Pacing sophomores star alongside the trotting classic starters in a pair of events — the $500,000 Tattersalls Pace for the glamour boys and the $207,000 Glen Garnsey Memorial for the gals. The Tattersalls Pace, sandwiched between the futurities to the tail of the card and sponsored by the Cameo Hills Farm, rematches Joe Holloway’s star Perfect Sting against a duo of stout competitors – Little Brown Jug champ Lous Pearlman from Post 3 and Bluegrasss champ Charlie May from Post 12, the latter of which supplemented into this event for $60,000. Perfect Sting lands Post 4 in the 12-horse event as he tries to upend two horses who have bested him this season. The field also includes Bluegrass split winner Southwind Gendry from Post 2 and a pair of runner-up performers in Abuckabett Hanover from Post 9 and Rockyroad Hanover from Post 11.
Test Of Faith makes her first start from millionaire’s row in the Glen Garnsey Memorial, though she scores from Post 9 in the 10-horse affair. David Miller pilots the winner of 18 from 21 starts against a group including Richard “Nifty” Norman’s pair of tenacious fillies in Fire Start Hanover (Post 3) and Grace Hill (Post 8) as well as Ron Burke’s speedster Blue Diamond Eyes (Post 5). The Glen Garnsey is sponsored by the Downbytheseaside Syndicate and Diamond Creek Farms.
Aged competition also hits the track on Sunday starting with the $81,000 Allerage Farms Filly and Mare Trot, sponsored by the What The Hill Syndicate and Hickory Lane Farm. Speedy sophomore Altar lands against the older mares after supplementing for $8,550, and leaves from Post 4 for trainer Nancy Takter and driver Dexter Dunn. She'll line up against two Hambletonian and two Hambletonian Oaks winners in a deep field despite the recent retirement of trotting star Manchego. Atlanta, the 2018 Hambletonian champ, starts from Post 5 with Yannick Gingras driving for trainer Ron Burke, and 2020 Hambletonian winner Ramona Hill starts from Post 9 in her first pari-mutuel start since making a break in the Hambletonian Maturity on July 17. When Dovescry, the 2019 Oaks champ, starts from Post 2 while Sorella, 2020 Oaks winner, starts from post 10.
European star Ecurie D finally lands stateside with his first North American start coming in the $134,000 Allerage Farms Trot, sponsored by Blue Chip Farms LLC and Emp Invest Oy. Åke Svanstedt assumes training of the five-year-old Infinitif stallion from conditioner Frode Hamre and will also steer the star from Post 6 against stablemate and Dayton Trotting Derby champ Back Of The Neck and 2019 Hambletonian winner Forbidden Trade among five other strong competitors.
Team Noble’s Ocean Rock will try to keep the rock rolling into the $158,000 Allerage Farms Pace, having won in his last four starts which includes the $135,000 Jim Ewart Memorial, $182,000 Hoosier Park Pacing Derby and the $168,000 Dayton Pacing Derby. Dan Noble drives the gelding by Rockin Amadeus from Post 3 against the likes of three millionaires — This Is The Plan (Post 5), Catch The Fire (Post 6) and Cattlewash (Post 9) — as well as a pair of speedy four-year-olds in Tattoo Artist (Post 8) and Allywag Hanover (Post 10). The Allerage Farms Pace is sponsored by Jeff & Paula Gural.
Rocknificent’s time in the sun may finally come in the $73,500 Allerage Farms Filly and Mare Pace, sponsored by Woodbine Mohawk Park. The Linda Toscano trainee has completed the exacta to Lyons Sentinel in five of her 15 starts this season and now, with her main rival absent, starts from Post 1 in rein to Scott Zeron against five other mares — two of which come from conditioner Nancy Takter in Peaky Sneaky (Post 2) and JK First Lady (Post 6).
First-race post time for the finale card of the Grand Circuit fortnight is 1 p.m. (EDT).
(Red Mile)
If it's a warm afternoon
If it's a warm afternoon tomorrow at The Red Mile, The Allerage, with Ocean Rock, Allywag Hanover, and Nicholas Beach, will most likely be the fastest mile of 2021.