Some high-profile youngsters and one blast from the past were out for Friday’s (August 25) qualifying races at The Red Mile on a perfect Bluegrass morning. Temperatures were in the low 70s Fahrenheit (low 20s Celsius), and a slight breeze faced the horses as they turned homeward.
The opener was for freshman trotters, and Dewayne Minor unveiled a nice Donato Hanover colt named Found My Sloan with a front-end 1:59.3 win over Prince William (Tony Alagna). The winner is owned by Glat Kosher Racing, who made a winning bid of $18,000 for the colt at last fall’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale (LSYS).
Americam Nation went for the second time today, and was a 1:55.1 winner for trainer-driver Tony Alagna. With virtually no competition, the unraced American Ideal three-year-old from Docdor Cameo set his own fractions and sprinted home into the breeze with a 27.4 final quarter handled confidently. Brittany Farms, Deo Volente Farms, In The Gym Partners and Americam Art Stable may find he’s been worth the wait.
The Yankee Glide freshman trotting filly Glide Baby Glide took a nice mark of 1:58.3 this morning, setting all the fractions for driver Tom T. Tetrick and trainer Rodney Debeck. She was adding the trotting hopples today and that change apparently made all the difference, as she stayed flat and went three seconds faster than any previous line. She was a LSYS $5,000 bargain for owners Kathy Montgomery and Terry White, both of Mt. Sterling, Ky.
Tony Alagna drove the freshman Cantab Hall colt Gallant Man ($350,000 LSYS) to an impressive second-place finish from the pocket gaining on the winner late, falling just short of being a winner at first asking.
The Alagna stable finished one-two in the next race with a pair of sharp looking three-year-old trotters when Signal Hill won for Tony over Chardonnay Hill (Melander) in 1:55 flat. They followed along as Jackie Gray and Beer Dad sailed past the half in :55.4. At that point, Alagna moved Signal Hill around the pacesetter on the turn with Chardonnay Hall in hot pursuit, and they came to the wire together.
Making a trip in from the past via the was 2015 Messenger Stakes winner Revenge Shark, who hasn’t been seen in competition on the racetrack since the Bluegrass Stakes that fall. Alagna drove the now five-year-old to a 1:53.3 mile—not bad off a two-year hiatus. Alagna still owns Revenge Shark in partnership with Brad Grant.
Kentucky Sire Stakes freshman trotters return for their second leg on Saturday night (August 26); post time is 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
(Red Mile)