Jimmy Takter trainee Manchego will be searching for her ninth consecutive win in the last of five $66,000 divisions of the Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Filly Trot that will take place this Friday (September 29) at the Red Mile.
The Muscle Hill filly is out of the Cantab Hall mare Secret Magic, and she will start from Post 3 in her Friday split. Manchego has amassed $501,948 in earnings this season, which include purses obtained from wins in the $330,800 Jim Doherty Memorial, $252,000 Pennsylvania Sires Stakes (PASS) Championship, and $307,500 Peaceful Way Stakes. Manchego was purchased for $120,000 from the Lexington Select sale. Yannick Gingras will drive Manchego Friday for owners Black Horse Racing, John Fielding, and Herb Liverman.
Megadolce, who is winless after eight starts, will try for a maiden-breaking performance in the opening division of the Bluegrass. By Cantab Hall and out of the Kadabra mare Bella Dolce, the Richard ‘Nifty’ Norman trainee has earned $43,971 in purses this seaon and has recorded seven on-the-board finishes. Andrew McCarthy will drive for owner David McDuffee.
Front Circle, a Muscle Hill filly from Conway Hall mare Sheena Hall, is the 2-1 morning line favourite in the first division. A winner of two races from nine starts this season, the rough-gaited Ron Burke trainee has collected $72,232 in earnings for owners Burke Racing Stable, Silva, Purnell, and Libby, Michelle Yanek, and Weaver Bruscemi. Yannick Gingras will drive the $110,000 Lexington-Select purchase from Post 2.
The Charlie Norris-trained and driven Sherrys Lady will move from the Kentucky Sires Stakes (KYSS) into Grand Circuit competition Friday. She will start from Post 6 in the second Bluegrass split. A Muscle Hill filly from the Andover Hall mare Fraction, Sherrys Lady has won twice from four starts this season, including a third-place finish in a preliminary leg of the KYSS prior to a 1:56.3 lifetime-best performance at the Red Mile. An $80,000 Lexington Select Purchase, Sherrys Lady races for interest Coyote Wind Farms.
Nixie Volo, another KYSS starter, will look to redeem herself after having made a break during her $250,000 KYSS Final. She will match up against Sherrys Lady and will start from Post 4. She has won two races from six starts this season. The John Butenschoen-trained daughter of Yankee Glide is out of the Windsongs Legacy mare No Im Not, and she has earned $39,000 in purses so far this season for owners Kentuckiana Racing Stables, VIP Internet Stable, 83 Racing, and Eddie Gran. Corey Callahan will drive the $22,000 Lexington-Select purchase.
The two KYSS starters will face 2-1 morning-line favourite Mooshka Stride, a Credit Winner filly from the Donato Hanover mare Check Me Out. Mooshka Stride was a $260,000 Lexington-Select purchase by Emilio and Maria Rosati. The Mark Harder trainee has recorded one victory after three career starts. Her maiden-breaking score came in a 1:55 mile in the Kindergarten Series at the Meadowlands Racetrack. Andy Miller will drive the earner winner of $8,000 in purses from Post 2.
KYSS winner Top Expectations and runner-up Lily Stride will battle in the third Bluegrass division. Top Expectations, by Cantab Hall and out of the Kadabra mare Exceed Expectations, has won twice from eight starts. She most recently posted at 10-1 upset in the $250,000 KYSS final in a career-best performance of 1:54.1. Owned by Daniel Plouffe, the Erv Miller trainee has banked $168,378 this season, and will start from Post 6 with Marcus Miller in the bike.
Lily Stride, who was sent off the 1-5 favourite in her KYSS final, was a neck shy of sweeping the series for owners Emilio and Maria Rosati and trainer Mark Harder. The Muscle Hill filly from the Donato Hanover mare Sterling Volo has won four races from seven starts this season and has earned $167,152. She was also third to Manchego in the Jim Doherty Memorial. Lily Stride was purchased for $220,000 from Lexington Select sale. Andy Miller has picked up the Friday drive behind Lily Stride.
The full sister to Shake It Cerry, Swing It Cathy, will attempt to record her first win of the season in the fourth Bluegrass division. She is set to face PASS competitor Seviyorum. By Donato Hanover and out of the Yankee Glide mare Solveig, Swing It Cathy has earned $19,456 this season for owners Christina Takter and Solveig’s Racing Partners. The Jimmy Takter trainee will start from Post 6 following her sixth-place finish in the $240,000 Kentuckiana. She will be driven by Yannick Gingras.
Seviyorum, a winner of two races from six starts, will start from Post 1 for owners Stroy Inc. and Andy Miller Stable Inc. Seviyorum has earned $68,509 thus far this season. The Julie Miller-trained daughter of Donato Hanover is out of the Self Possessed mare Armbro Domino. She will enter Friday’s action off of a second-place finish in a Kindergarten prelim at the Meadowlands. The homebred from Stroy Inc. will be driven by Andy Miller.
Post time for the second evening of the Grand Circuit fortnight is slated for 7 p.m. EDT.
(Red Mile)