Nine straight for undefeated Sea Silk

LEXINGTON, KY —Ohio champion Sea Silk brought her talents out of her native state to The Red Mile on Friday (Oct. 1), where the Ron Burke pupil punched her unbeaten card with a ninth harness racing victory when taking the second of two divisions of the $289,000 McWicked Bluegrass 2-Year-Old Filly Pace.

Leaving from post 6, driver Chris Page pointed Sea Silk to the top, putting Dont Fence Me In into the pocket heading to a :27.2 first quarter. She faced no challenge up the backside while Mermaid By The Sea, after breaking at the start, ground first over through a :55.3 half to apply pressure to the pacesetter around the final turn. Her uncovered bid promptly folded off three-quarters in 1:24.1, leaving Sea Silk with a pair of late challengers to deter.

Yes And Yes kicked off a second-over trip into the stretch and came surging for the front as Sea Silk began to drift off the pegs, creating an opening for Dont Fence Me In. Sea Silk battled from between the stubborn challengers to the finish and kept the pair at bay to win in 1:50.3 by a length. Dont Fence Me In settled for second with Yes And Yes finishing third and Treacherous Kiss checked in fourth another three lengths behind.

“The only quirk she has is she’ll get a little lopey gaited and looks like she’s got a problem, but as soon as you turn her and send her in the right direction and get her pacing, she just takes off,” said Mickey Burke Jr., assistant and brother of trainer Ron Burke, after the race. “She’s been just pacing from the start and going forward. [She] couldn’t be a nicer horse to deal with.”

SEA SILK REPLAY

The daughter by Downbytheseaside has now accrued $451,092 from her nine starts for owners Burke Racing Stable & Weaver Bruscemi, Knox Services and Hatfield Stables. She paid $2.40 to win.

Boudoir Hanover shut the door on 1-2 favorite Lyons Serenity when speeding clear to a 1:49.4 score in the first division of the McWicked.

Driver Dexter Dunn dashed the daughter of Captaintreacherous to the point from post 6 moving to a :28 first quarter. Lyons Serenity sat fourth in the stroll up the backside towards a :55.2 half before getting underway uncovered to the final turn. But Lyons Serenity’s first-over crawl faced no match to Boudoir Hanover around the final turn as the Tony Alagna trainee widened her advantage to three-quarters in 1:23.2 and expanded her lead through the straightaway sprint to finish 3-1/2 lengths in front at the beam. Galleria Hanover rode the pylons to snag third with A Girl That Twirls rallying from second over to take fourth.

Owned by Riverview Racing, Alagna Racing, Caviart Farms, Daniel Plouffe and Steven Head, Boudoir Hanover won her second race from nine starts, earning $178,634. She paid $5 to win.

BOUDOIR HANOVER REPLAY

Each division of the McWicked Bluegrass 2-Year-Old Filly Pace was sponsored by The McWicked Syndicate and Winbak Farm.

For full race results, click here.

by Ray Cotolo, for the Red Mile