At the site of his sire’s and dam’s world record miles, the Always B Miki-Shebestingin colt Perfect Sting remained undefeated with a determined 1:50 performance in the third of three divisions for the $359,300 Stay Hungry Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Pace -- presented by the Stay Hungry Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms -- on Saturday (Oct. 3) at The Red Mile.
Away third to a :27.4 first quarter, Perfect Sting swooped to the front and grabbed the lead from Summa Cum Laude before a :55.1 half. Always A Miki raced third and angled first over as Straight Talk advanced uncovered to the far turn. Perfect Sting kept Always A Miki at bay to three-quarters in 1:23.3 and easily turned away that challenger into the stretch.
Summa Cum Laude stuck to the pylons and gave pursuit to Perfect Sting as the pair paced clear of the competition. Perfect Sting drifted off the pylons as Summa Cum Laude sprinted a straight course to the inside, but the Joe Holloway trainee dug in and held off the late challenger to win in 1:50. Always A Miki finished third with Pirate Hanover taking fourth.
“I said back in about March or April, he’s got the potential to be the best horse I’ve ever had, and I think he is,” said Holloway, who conditioned both the winner’s sire and dam. “Nobody was this advanced at two. Always B Miki wasn’t this advanced, Jennas Beach Boy wasn’t. I was 38 years old when I had Jenna and I thought they’d come along all the time. I now realize they don’t come around that often. He’s getting there, and he’s still learning. He dug in, came [home] in :26.2...does what he has to do.”
Victorious in all seven career starts, Perfect Sting has accrued $254,450 for owners and breeders Brittany Farms LLC and Val D’Or Farms. David Miller drove the $2.10 winner.
A :52.4 half set by One Eight Hundred poised 8-5 favourite Lous Pearlman for a stretch-drive burst, as the Sweet Lou colt scored in the opening division of the Stay Hungry in 1:49.1 -- just a fifth of a second off the world record.
One Eight Hundred led a four-horse charge into the first turn. Fulsome landed in the pocket with Literl Lad Hanover third and Commanding Officer fourth to a :26 first quarter. Lous Pearlman raced fifth into the backstretch while One Eight Hundred chugged towards the half but quickly backed through the field to three-quarters in 1:21.3.
Commanding Officer angled off the pylons as the pace slowed into the stretch and rushed to the lead. Lous Pearlman advanced in tow before angling off cover and sliding by Commanding Officer. Literl Lad Hanover, finding room after the field bunched at headstretch, ripped down the center of the course to finish second behind his stablemate. Commanding Officer finished third with Captains Place taking fourth.
“That was a dream trip for sure,” winning driver Matt Kakaley said after the race. “We thought he was something special right away [but] he got a little sick...had a little problem here and there. He didn’t finish the PA Sires [Stakes] the way we hoped [fourth in Championship], but he’s bounced back and Ronnie [Burke]’s done a good job getting him back to the way he was at the beginning of the year.”
Collecting his fifth win from nine starts, Lous Pearlman grew his bankroll to $191,318 for owners Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, Elizabeth Novak and Howard Taylor. The homebred paid $5.20 to win.
Southwind Gendry strolled to the front and held firm to the finish when taking the second division of the Stay Hungry as the 1-2 favourite in 1:50.2.
Away fourth to a :28 first quarter, driver Yannick Gingras angled Southwind Gendry off the pegs and ranged towards the lead before a :55.4 half. Billy Clyde edged first over from eighth up the backstretch and flushed cover, with Red Right Hand tipping wide from fifth and Southwind Petyr catching that cover to the far turn.
Red Right Hand rolled towards Southwind Gendry pacing to three-quarters in 1:23.4 but folded into the stretch. Southwind Gendry gained separation as Highlandbeachsbest shook loose from the pocket entering the final eighth, but only narrowed the leader’s margin to settle for second. Shakespeare shot through a seam at the pylons to take third with Southwind Petyr taking fourth.
“We got him started a little bit late this year and it maybe actually helped him,” trainer Ron Burke said after the race. “He got very sick when he came up from Florida, so we maybe missed one Sire Stake and only had one qualifier. He’s actually been a pleasant surprise...training down we really just thought he was just middle of the road. We gelded him because all he wanted to do his fight and not race. Since then he’s improved tremendously and now I think he is a top colt.”
Now winning five straight and his seventh from nine starts overall, Southwind Gendry has banked $359,419 for owners Burke Racing Stable, Phillip Collura, Knox Services, J&T Silva and Purnel & Libby. The Southwind Farms-bred Always B Miki gelding paid $3.00 to win.
Presto Pops In Bluegrass Upset
Trainer-driver Ake Svanstedt pounced 10-1 shot Presto from the pocket and powered past 9-5 second choice You Ato Dream to win the first division of the $349,000 Norman Woolworth Memorial Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Filly Trot on Saturday (Oct. 3) at The Red Mile.
Svanstedt sent Presto for the lead from Post 7, but yielded control as You Ato Dream brushed from third to the lead by a :27.3 first quarter. You Ato Dream maintained her speed up the backstretch with a strung-out field chasing the pacesetter to a :54.4 half. To the far turn You Ato Dream continued uncontested, though the tempo softened as Presto veered out of the pocket by three-quarters in 1:23.4 and dug into the leader through the stretch, edging a nose in front to the finish of a 1:53 mile. Rose Run Whitney rallied from the back for third with Chablis closing for fourth.
“She is good so far,” Svanstedt said after the race. “She’s doing good every time. It’s only in the race that she’s nice to drive -- she’s a puller when we train her at home. But she’s a real racehorse. She [left] fast and came home good.”
Bred by Lynn Jones and Steve Stewart, Presto (Trixton - Susies Magic) won her third race from five starts, earning $96,800 for owner Brixton Medical Inc. She paid $22.60 to win.
Pub Crawl scooted through an opening at the pylons to pull a 15-1 upset in the second division of the Norman Woolworth Memorial.
Eazy Pass cleared command before a :28 first quarter with 4-5 favourite Flawless Country racing second and 9-5 second choice Iteration sitting third. Past the half in :56.1, Lindys Dollywood tipped first over from fifth moving to the far turn and flushed cover when Flawless Country vacated the pocket moving to three-quarters in 1:24.3.
Tiring in the stretch, Eazy Pass gave way to Flawless Country. Iteration fanned off the pylons but had no clearance while Pub Crawl weaved by Eazy Pass and stormed up the cones entering the final sixteenth, sliding by Flawless Country to stop the clock in 1:53.4. Iteration, finding room late, finished third with Eazy Pass settling for fourth.
Returning $32.80 to win, Pub Crawl collected her fourth win from 10 starts, earning $176,263 for owners Andy Miller Stable, Louis Willinger, Kapildeo Singh & Legendary Standardbred Farm. Andy Miller drove the Bar Hopping filly for trainer Julie Miller.
Hello I Love You lunged off a helmet to best even-money favourite Beautiful Game in a stretch-drive sprint to the end of a 1:54.2 mile in the third division of the Norman Woolworth Memorial.
Sweeping Rainbow swooped to the lead past a :28 first quarter after being carried three-wide around the first turn. Beautiful Game secured the pocket into the backstretch with Hello I Love You racing third and Frankly My Dear fourth. Past the half in :56.1, Frankly My Dear pulled first over and progressed towards the leader circling the final turn. Aunt Irene, the 8-5 second choice, followed cover loosely from second over to three-quarters in 1:26 but lost stride turning into the stretch.
Beautiful Game edged out of the pocket as Frankly My Dear took the lead from Sweeping Rainbow into the stretch. Hello I Love You rode the favourite’s helmet but dove to the inside while Beautiful Game rallied to the center of the track. Beautiful Game got a jump on Hello I Love You moving to the eighth pole, but the Tony Alagna trainee accelerated towards the lead late to snag her second victory from seven starts. Frankly My Dear held third with Contested Hanover taking fourth.
Bred by Docs Farm Inc., Hello I Love You has earned $58,200 for owners Let It Ride Stables, M T Pockets Stables, Alagna Racing and Marvin Katz. Joe Bongiorno drove the Trixton-Flirtin Miss filly, who paid $10.20 to win.
Anoka Hanover nailed tempo-setter May Karp in the final strides of a 1:54 mile to win the last division of the Norman Woolworth Memorial.
May Karp cleared the lead to a :28.3 first quarter while 6-5 favourite Darlene Hanover raced fifth into the backstretch before edging first over and marching towards May Karp past a :57.2 half. Darlene Hanover pressed May Karp to three-quarters in 1:25.3 but ducked to the inside as May Karp extended her lead into the stretch.
The backfield fanned across the track as May Karp veered off the pylons clinging to the lead in the final eighth. Anoka Hanover gathered the most momentum from third over and fired through the stretch to take the lead late and win. Hot As Hill finished third with Splash Blue Chip charging from last for fourth.
“A couple got away pretty good early there and I didn’t want to push [Anoka Hanover] too much,” winning driver Todd McCarthy said after the race. “When we settled where we did, it kind of looked like I was going to get a good trip into it. I know she’s got a lot of trot late and just was going to hope we’d have enough to get there.”
Co-owned by trainer Noel Daley with L A Express Stable LLC and Caviart Farms, Anoka Hanover won her fifth race from nine starts, earning $177,216. The Hanover Shoe Farms-bred Donato Hanover filly paid $7.20 to win.
Each division of the Norman Woolworth Memorial was sponsored by the Arden Homestead Stable, ET Gerry and Peter Gerry, Margareta Wallenius-Kleberg, Stoner Manor Inc., Menahmmar Stuteri Ab, Jorgen Jahre Jr., LST Stables and Lawrence DeVan.
Grand Circuit competition continues at The Red Mile on Sunday (Oct. 4) with a total 12 divisions of Bluegrass Stakes -- three divisions for sophomores of each sex and gait. The 15-race card, which includes two non-betting races at 12:15 p.m. (EDT), is slated to start at 1:00 p.m. (EDT).
(Red Mile)