Charlie May holds off Perfect Sting in Bluegrass

LEXINGTON, KY — Harness racing driver Brett Miller made sure the ball was in Charlie May’s court with a backside swoop to the lead, forcing Perfect Sting to charge after him in a sprint to the finish. The move proved a winning one, with the Don Tiger homebred defeating Perfect Sting in a 1:51.1 mile in the second of three divisions of the $253,000 Captaintreacherous 3-Year-Old Colt & Gelding Pace on Sunday (Oct. 3) at The Red Mile.

Floating into third to a :29.2 first quarter, Miller brushed Charlie May to the top up the backside while his main threat, 4-5 favorite Perfect Sting, raced patiently from fourth to a :57.2 half.

Driver David Miller tipped Perfect Sting first over to the far turn and slowly advanced towards Charlie May to three-quarters in 1:24.2.

Off the corner, the tempo increasing to the tune of a :26.4 final quarter, in which Charlie May maintained his advantage to keep Perfect Sting at bay by three-quarter lengths. Emblaze Hanover sat the pocket to finish third while I’ll Drink To That rallied from second over for fourth.

Charlie May paid $5.80 to win while collecting his eighth victory from 16 starts this season and his 15^th from 25 starts overall. The gelded son of McArdle is rapidly nearing the $1-million earnings plateau, having banked $899,902.

CHARLIE MAY REPLAY

As the showers loomed into Lexington, Water Sports Teen played through the developing splash of a track still rated “good” to win the first division of the Captaintreacherous in 1:49.3.

Driver Joe Bongiorno hustled Water Sports Teen to the top before a :27 first quarter with One Eight Hundred sitting second and Natameri third. The field stayed aligned at the pegs up the backside with the throttle still pressed toward a :54 half and even to three-quarters in 1:21.1.

Natameri mounted a bid off the pegs around the final turn but began to regress off the corner as Summa Cum Laude kicked off cover to the center of the track along with Rockyroad Hanover. However Waters Sports Teen gave no leeway to the line, completing his speed show over a late-gaining Rockyroad Hanover by a neck with Summa Cum Laude taking third and Heart Of Chewbacca rallying for fourth.

A colt by Somebeachsomewhere, Water Sports Teen won his ninth race form 23 starts this season and his 10^th from 31 overall, earning $248,751. Jenn Bongiorno trains the $16.40 winner for owner Joshua Jay Graber.

WATER SPORTS TEEN REPLAY

Southwind Gendry gave way briefly to 1-2 favorite Abuckabett Hanover in midstretch before battling back to claim the lead and win the final division of the Captaintreacherous going away in 1:50.

Chase H Hanover swept from the outermost post in the field of seven to the lead before the first turn with pylon-starter Commanding Officer and the rest of the field aligning in post-position order. By a :28.4 first quarter, Commanding Officer circled Chase H Hanover to take the lead before Southwind Gendry came calling and soon commandeered the field to a :57.2 half.

Abuckabett Hanover tracked Southwind Gendry’s move up the backside but raced to the final turn at his side. The pair matched strides to three-quarters in 1:23.3 and Abuckabett Hanover edged a neck in front of Southwind Gendry through the stretch. But the resurgent gelding by Always B Miki reclaimed the lead in the final sixteenth and scooted to a two-length victory over Abuckabett Hanover, with Bayfield Beach finishing third and Commanding Officer fourth.

“He’s a fighter,” winning driver Yannick Gingras said of Southwind Gendry after the race. “When he’s right, he’s a really nice horse. Things haven’t gone the right way for him for awhile now, and I was starting to think it was my fault too. I just couldn’t make him go [and] things weren’t working out. But Ronnie [Burke] said he was going to be here with him all week [and that] he’ll be good; he’ll be fine. He was out of his mind in the post parade – he was really grabby and aggressive. So I figured I was either going to choke him or he was going to be really good, but he was obviously really good.”

Owned by Burke Racing Stable & Phil Collura, Knox Services and J&T Silva-Purnel & Libby, Southwind Gendry won his fourth race from 12 starts this season and his 14^th from 25 overall, earning $915,741. Ron Burke trains the $16.60 winner.

SOUTHWIND GENDRY REPLAY

Each division of the Captaintreacherous Bluegrass 3-Year-Old Colt & Gelding Pace was sponsored by the Captaintreacherous Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farm.

The $8,282.07 Pick-5 carryover coming into Sunday – prompting a $40,000 guarantee – generated a track-record payout for The Red Mile. A combo of 3/8/6/6/3, which includes no favorites and a pair of Ake Svanstedt longshots in Mon Amour ($108) and Fly Light ($47.60), returned a pool shot of $50,717.10.

For full race results, click here.

by Ray Cotolo, for the Red Mile