By Ray Cotolo, for The Red Mile
LEXINGTON,
KY— The 14-race program at The Red Mile on Sunday, October 1 features harness
racing stars such as Hambletonian Oaks-winner Ariana G, Meadowlands
Pace-champion Huntsville, and Canadian Trotting Classic-winner What The Hill,
all of which highlight a total of 11 Bluegrass divisions on the first afternoon
card of the Grand Circuit fortnight.
Ariana
G starts from post two in the second of three divisions of the $183,900 Cantab
Hall Bluegrass Three-Year-Old Filly Trot, sponsored by Hanover Shoe Farms and
Brittany Farms. The winner of 18 races over 22 starts matches up with Dream
Together, who finished second to the Jimmy Takter-trained daughter of Muscle
Hill, from the Cantab Hall mare Cantab It All, in the $315,700 Elegantimage
Stakes. Owned by Marvin Katz and Al Libfeld, Yannick Gingras will drive the
earner of over $1.5-million.
Jimmy
Takter also sends Thats All Moni, a Cantab Hall filly out of the Pine Chip mare
Mom’s Millionaire, in the first filly-trot split. A winner of eight races over
20 starts, she exits a fourth-place finish as the even-money favorite in the
$160,000 Moni Maker stakes, and will start from post five for owners Brittany
Farms, Marvin Katz, and Al Libfeld. Tim Tetrick drives the earner of $425,264.
The
final filly-trot division attracts Dream Baby Dream, co-owned-trained and
driven by Rod Allen. By Muscle Hill from the Andover Hall mare I Believe, the
winner of three races in 18 starts is co-owned with Joe Palermo III. Earning
$142,281, Dream Baby Dream will start from post four following a fourth-place
finish in the Elegantimage Stakes.
Off
a 1:49.1 victory in the Jenna’s Beach Boy at Hoosier Park, Huntsville, a
Somebeachsomewhere colt from the Western Hanover mare Wild West Show, starts
from post five in the second of three divisions of the $220,200
Somebeachcomewhere Bluegrass Three-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Pace, sponsored by
the Somebeachsomewhere Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms. Owned by trainer Ray
Schnittker along with partners Ted Gewertz, Steven Arnold, and Crawford Farms
Racing, he has won 15 races over 24 starts in his career, earning over
$1.6-million. Tim Tetrick will drive the 2016 freshman-pacing champion.
In
against Huntsville is Filibuster Hanover, who won the Little Brown Jug in a
mild upset, starting from post one. Ron Burke conditions the Somebeachsomewhere
gelding, from the Western Hanover mare Fashion Ecstasy, for owners Burke Racing
Stable, Joe Di Scala Jr., Jerry & Theresa Silva Stables, and Weaver
Bruscemi. A winner of five races in 27 starts, Yannick Gingras steers the
earner of $633,258.
Miso
Fast leads the opening division of the colt pace. A son of Roll With Joe out of
the Artsplace mare Sakura Hanover, the Ron Burke-trainee has won seven races in
30 starts, collecting $520,618 for owners Burke Racing Stables, Our Horse Cents
Stables, Jerry & Theresa Silva Stables, and Weaver Bruscemi. Matt Kakaley
will start with him from post five off a third-place finish in the final of the
Little Brown Jug.
The
final colt-pace split features Blood Line, a stand-out two-year-old during last
year’s Grand Circuit season. Winning only one race this season, the Jimmy
Takter-trained son of Somebeachsomewhere, from the Western Ideal mare Blood
Diamond, has a total of three to his credit over 25 starts, compiling $240,039
in earnings for owner Diamond Creek Racing. Mark MacDonald will drive from post
two.
Art
Scene, runner-up to Downbytheseaside in the Messengers Stakes elimination and
final, goes from post six against Blood Line. Following his Messenger efforts,
the American Ideal colt, from the Artsplace mare Lover Of Art, blazed around
Mohawk Racetrack, taking the $133,527 Simcoe Stakes in a lifetime-best 1:49.4,
winning by five lengths. Winning three races over 15 starts, the Tony
Alagna-trainee exits a fourth-place finish to Huntsville in the Jenna’s Beach
Boy. Scott Zeron will drive the earner of $254,627 for owners Brittany Farms,
Alagna Racing, In The Gym Partners, and American Art Stables.
Exiting
a 1:51.4 victory in the $560,880 Canadian Trotting Classic, Ron Burke-trainee
What The Hill headlines the third of three divisions of the $216,300 Explosive
Matter Bluegrass Three-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Trot, presented by the
Explosive Matter Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms, facing off against fellow
Hambletonian finalists Devious Man, from post five, and International Moni,
from post seven.
Positioned
between, David Miller will start from post six with the Muscle Hill colt from
the Angus Hall mare K T Cha Cha. Owned by Burke Racing Stable, Our Horse Cents
Stable, Jerry & Theresa Silva, and Deo Volente Farms, What The Hill has won
eight races in 24 starts, earning $719,612.
John
Butenschoen sends a pair in the opening split of the colt trot, with Bill’s
Mans starting from post three and Giveitgasandgo from post nine. Bill’s Man, a
colt by Credit Winner out of the Yankee Glide mare Silver Springs, has won five
races in 27 starts, earning $356,210 for owners William Wiswell and M&L of
Delaware Inc. Off a fourth-place finish in the Canadian Trotting Classic after
winning his elimination in 1:53.2, Corey Callahan is in the bike.
Giveitgasandgo,
a ridgling by Yankee Glide from the Andover Hall mare Mazda Hanover, has won 12
races in 25 starts, collecting $420,089 for owners Harmony Oaks Racing Stables,
David Miller, Lawrence Means, and Vip Internet Stable. Andrew McCarthy will
drive.
Butenschoen’s
other glamour boy trotter, Dover Dan, starts from post eight in the second
Bluegrass colt-trot split. The colt by Andover Hall, from the Royal Troubador
mare Cr Kay Suzie, enters off a second-place finish in the Canadian Trotting
Classic, and has eight wins in total to his credit over 26 starts. Owned by
William Wiswell, Jean Goehlen, and Eugene Schick, he has earned $474,645, and
will be driven by Corey Callahan.
Sweeping
the Jugette, Caviart Ally headlines the second of two divisions for the
$177,500 Galleria Bluegrass Three-Year-Old Filly Pace, presented by Fashion
Farms. The Noel Daley-trained daughter of Bettor’s Delight, from the No Nukes
mare Allamerican Cool, has won eight races in 29 starts, including the $252,000
Pennsylvania Sires Stakes Championship, earning $585,000 for owner Caviart
Farms. Andrew McCarthy will be in the bike from post one.
Racing
sharply in the New York Sires Stakes all season, Tequila Monday highlights the
opening split, starting from post three. Owned by Northfork Racing Stable and
Chuck Pompey, the Chris Oakes-trained daughter of American Ideal, from the
Ponder mare Margarita Monday, enters off a fourth-place finish in the Jugette
final, following a second-place effort in the elimination. Winning 11 races in
22 starts and earning $485,898 in the process, David Miller will drive.
Sunday’s
program at The Red Mile is the first matinee of the Grand Circuit meet, with
races kicking off at 1:00 p.m. EDT, which will be the first-race post for the
remainder of the meeting.
