LEXINGTON,
KY—Making his first foray into Grand Circuit company, Carter Pinske trainee
Amigo Volo vaulted to the top entering the stretch to win in a world-record
1:52.3 when taking the third of three divisions of the $315,500 Bluegrass
Two-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Trot—sponsored by Al Libfeld and Marvin Katz—on
Thursday, Sept. 26 at The Red Mile.
Odds-on
favorite Ready For Moni floated to the front passing a :28 opening quarter
while King Alphonso yielded for the pocket and Amigo Volo raced third. Ontopofthehill,
positioned fifth, tipped first over into a :56.3 half and flushed Amigo Volo
two wide into the final turn.
Amigo
Volo advanced to match strides with Ready For Moni passing three-quarters in
1:25.4 while King Alphonso slid from the pocket through a gap in cover
straightening for the finish. Both King Alphonso and Ready For Moni lost stride
through the lane as Amgio Volo strode clear of his competition, chased by Cafe
Americano in second and Rome Pays Off in third.
“He
always showed talent down in Florida,” Pinske said after the race. “He just
lacked maturity. He’s a little funky with his mouth; a little funky with his
shoeing and stuff like that. It was one of those things where he’d train good
one week and then he’d have a poor week. When we got him up north and we got
him gelded, he turned into a horse then.”
Owned
by the Pinske Stables and David J. Miller, Amigo Volo won his third race from
seven starts, earning $168,646. The gelding bred by Kentuckiana Farms LLC and
Jorgen Jahre had Dexter Dunn in the bike and paid $14.40 to win.
Gangster
Hanover hustled past 4-5 favorite Back Of The Neck to win the $104,500 opening
Bluegrass division drawing away in a 1:52.3 mile.
Trainer-driver
Ake Svanstedt sat fourth with Gangster Hanover while Back Of The Neck led the
field to a :27.1 opening quarter with stablemate Expectations sliding into the
pocket. Svanstedt floated the Father Patrick colt from the cones passing a
:55.4 half and blitzed Back Of The Neck circling the final turn. Gangster Hanover
struck the front past three-quarters in 1:25.4 and widened his lead through the
stretch as Stonefire US, off at 97-1, rallied towards the center of the course
for second. Hobbs snagged third from Back Of The Neck fading to fourth.
Co-owned
by Svanstedt with S R F Stables and breeder Brittany Farms (which bought into
25 percent of the colt as a yearling after the Harrisburg Sale), Gangster
Hanover won his third race from five starts, earning $114,522. He paid $18.20
to win.
“It’s
the only horse I bought at Harrisburg,” George Segal of Brittany Farms said
after the race. “I liked the pedigree; I liked the horse. My advisors helped me
and everything worked out fine. Normally [these horses] show their best right
here. [Ake Svanstedt’s a] great trainer. He’s got great horses that he’s
developed here—Six Pack among others.”
Dexter
Dunn also drove Svanstedt trainee EL Ideal to a maiden-breaking 1:52.2 mile
when taking the second division of Bluegrass.
It’s
Academic swept to the front from the outermost post in the field of eight while
EL Ideal sat second to a :27.1 first quarter. Berkery J, racing third to the
backside, pulled first over and crossed over to control passing a :55.4 half
before It’s Academic tipped from second to retake command rounding the final
turn. EL Ideal tracked the pocket-popper’s move and ranged past the new leader
through three-quarters in 1:25. The Muscle Hill colt maintained command through
the lane while pursued by 1-2 favorite Capricornus in second. Big Oil kicked
off cover for third.
“He’s
been in some really good races as a two-year-old,” Dunn said after the race.
“He was a little off his game last out but Ake and Sarah said that today he
felt great and he showed it. He’s a big-strong guy and the big track definitely
felt like it helped him a lot.”
Bred
by Erkki Laakkonen and owned by Emp Invest Oy, EL Ideal has earned $122,682
from six starts. He paid $18.20 to win.
Grand
Circuit action resumes at The Red Mile on Friday, Sept. 27 with a nine-race
card highlighted by four divisions of the $330,000 Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Filly
Trot and two divisions of the $280,500 Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Filly Pace.
Racing gets underway with first-race post at 1:00 p.m. (EDT).
