The Kindergarten Series will return to the Red Mile on Thursday evening (September 17). Five divisions of the Grand Circuit event will be featured and will include all four of last week's winners.
The colts will be up first in Race 3, Race 5 and Race 6, and each dash will feature promising prospects.
Jack Vernon will look to make amends with the horseplayers for a miscue in last week's race (he broke stride in the race while sent off at a nickel on a dollar. He's scheduled to face stiff competition, which will be led by Dominion Beach, who heads into the contest off a win in the Champlain Stakes at Mohawk Racetrack for the training/driving team of Nancy and Marcus Johansson and owner Courant AB.
Southwind Flash appears to have found himself in recent efforts – chief among them an impressive start-to-finish 1:55.2 score over the clay in the series last week. Dave Palone is back in town to drive for trainer Ron Burke, who owns the Muscle Hill colt in partnership with Weaver Bruscemi, Phil Collura and Jack Piatt III.
Division 3 appears to be a good spot for Hollywood Highway to repeat. The Muscle Massive colt broke his maiden in 1:56.1 at the Red Mile at a huge price for Palone last week. Trainer Staffan Lind has his lightly-raced charge going in the right direction for owners Marvin Katz and Al Libfeld.
The fillies have been split into a pair of nine-horse divisions, which have been carded as Race 7 and Race 8, both of which are interesting and competitive contests. The first of the two divisions will feature both returning filly winners: Haughty and Im Volo.
Haughty looked like a million bucks for trainer/driver Jimmy Takter last week, as she drew away to an eight-length win in 1:54.1 with the greatest of ease. Libfeld and Katz also own the Donato Hanover lass in partnership with Sam Goldband.
Last week, Im Volo converted a perfect trip by her trainer/driver Jan Johnson into a win, albeit four seconds slower than Haughty. She is a homebred racing for Jorgen Jahre Jr.
Of the previous winners that are scheduled to contest the second filly division, Gifted Lady is the most accomplished (she won a Kindergarten leg at Tioga Downs in 1:56 for Takter). Gifted Lady will make her Red Mile debut on Thursday for owners Silver Linden Farms.
First-race post time for the Red Mile’s Thursday evening card is 7:15 p.m.
(Red Mile)