Walner Payton toughest in $317,700 International Stallion

LEXINGTON, KY— Finally leaving the shadow of standout Special Way, Walner Payton (Walner) found her day in the sun and savored every inch to score a 1:52.2 victory in the second of three harness racing divisions of the $317,700 International Stallion Stakes for freshman trotting fillies on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 8) at The Red Mile.

Off the 3-5 favorite, driver Dexter Dunn floated Walner Payton from post 7 to race forward but failed to find a seat at the pylons to a :28.4 first quarter. Walner Payton ventured onward up the backside to grab the lead from Fruit Cake past a :57.1 half and opened her advantage to three-quarters in 1:25.1.

The filly straightened for home under minor encouragement from Dunn to stay to task, and she responded to then scoot away and win by four lengths.

Secret Volo settled for second with Emira Mil IT rallying for third and Royal Filly taking fourth.

WALNER PAYTON REPLAY

Trained by Chris Ryder for owner Kenneth Jacobs, Walner Payton owns three wins from 10 starts and has $368,650 stuffed in her coffers. She paid $3.22 to win in taking the ISS division named “The International Moni”, presented by the International Moni Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farm.

Tony Alagna pupil Mambacita (Tactical Landing) made good on her 1-2 promise following a win in the Bluegrass to take the first division of the ISS in 1:53.4.

Mambacita took the lead from post 8 to click a :28.2 first quarter with Life Itself anxiously vacating the cones and sweeping forward to take the top. Driver David Miller soon opted out of the pocket and placed Mambacita back on the point after a :57.3 half. From there, the field could only chase as Mambacita slipped by three-quarters in 1:26.3 and strolled to the finish a 2-1/4-length winner over pylon-skimming Caviart Gwen. Una Madonna finished evenly to take third while Life Itself flattened and settled for fourth.

“She’s been pretty consistent and steady all year, has never really lost her form and is just really sharp right now,” David Miller said after the race. “I thought she had a real good shot of winning and that wasn’t the horse that I figured I would be following, so I went ahead and moved her again and she was pretty strong.”

MAMBACITA REPLAY

Mambacita races for owners Alagna Racing LLC, Crawford Farms Racing and Pryde Stables Inc. She bagged her fourth victory in nine tries and padded her earnings to $329,262. As the favorite, she paid $3.12 to win in taking the ISS division named “The Long Tom”, presented by the Long Tom Syndicate and Midland Acres.

Large payoffs came in the last ISS split when Mommamia Volo (Tactical Landing) and driver Todd McCarthy vaulted off slow fractions to pull a 21-1 upset in 1:55.4.

Kayleigh S, the slight favorite at 3-1, crept forward to take the lead from If The Shoe Fits after a :30 first quarter and kept the tempo tepid. Through a half in :58.4, Kayleigh S endured a first-over push from Yes Please to three-quarters in 1:28.4 and revved the engines for the sprint home.

However, Mommamia Volo angled off cover from second over and fired with the sharpest momentum to snag the lead late as Kayleigh S folded. Mommamia Volo hit the beam in time to keep closing Quick Stop at bay by a neck while If The Shoe Fits took third and Pure Hope S finished fourth.

“This week, I was pretty confident she’d bounce back pretty good,” trainer Carter Pinske said after the race, in regards to her break in stride in an overnight race last week. “It was just a bit of greenness. She was out and rolling pretty good there – she looked to me like she was going to be a winner, but as soon as she cleared the horse [she broke].”

MOMMAVIA VOLO REPLAY

Paying $44.46 to win, Mommavia Volo collected her second victory in five tries and cashed a nice check to now have $60,300 in her bankroll. She competes for owners Kentuckiana Racing Stable and Jorgan Jahre Jr. She won the ISS division named “The Walner”, presented by the Walner Syndicate.

For complete race results, click here.

by Ray Cotolo, for The Red Mile