Daley pair have eyes on International Stallion Stakes

LEXINGTON, KY— Harness racing trainer Noel Daley’s 2-year-olds have been off to a flying start through the first half of the 2023 season, and he comes into Saturday’s (Oct. 7) stakes action at The Red Mile with a pair looking to keep progressing off their success in his trotting filly Buy A Round and his pacing colt Captain Albano.

Buy A Round (Walner) competes in the afternoon’s third race, the second division of four for the $348,000 International Stallion Stakes for 2-year-old trotting fillies. Andy McCarthy steers the 9-5 morning line choice after she catapulted off the speed to a 1:53.3 victory as the 3-5 choice in her Bluegrass division last week.

Buy A Round lands post 2 against a group that includes Kentucky champion Date Night Hanover from post 6, New York champion Senorita Palema from post 8 and Pennsylvania champion Sierra Girl from post 1 among others.

Her stablemate – Captain Albano (Captaintreacherous) – competes in Race 4, the opening division of the $285,000 International Stallion Stakes for 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings. Captain Albano goes as the 8-5 morning line choice after downing undefeated Newsroom in a 1:49.2 mile to win a Bluegrass division last week. Todd McCarthy pilots the Noel Daley trainee from post 7 in a nine-horse contest.

Newsroom (Always B Miki) escapes Captain Albano and will look for redemption in Race 6, the second division of International Stallion Stakes for the freshman pacing colts and geldings. David Miller drives the Joe Holloway trainee from the pylon post, just to the inside of Boston Rocks who also tries for a rebound win off a second-place finish in Bluegrass action. Tim Tetrick drives Boston Rocks for trainer Steve Elliott after he missed victory by a neck to Better Is Nice in 1:51. The field also includes Captain Luke, fourth-place finisher in the Metro Pace, from post 6.

Better Is Nice (Captaintreacherous) leads the third division of International Stallion Stakes for the boys. The Kentucky Sires Stakes champ lands post 2 for trainer Tony Alagna and driver Andy McCarthy against seven rivals which includes Booming Economy, who finished third to Captain Albano in the Pennsylvania Sires Stakes championship and enters off a last-place finish in his Metro Pace elimination. Yannick Gingras drives the colt from post 6 as he makes his first start for trainer Ron Burke.

Cote Keim’s virtuoso Magnifico Hanover (Captaintreacherous) puts a three-race win streak on the line in the final division for the freshman boys. Brian Sears sticks with the gelding who blew home to win his Bluegrass dash in 1:51 as the 6-5 favorite. Those looking to upend him include New York Sires Stakes runner-up Avenger Force from post 2 as well as Metro Pace finalist Remember The Alamo, who starts as the 5-2 morning line favorite, from post 4.

Stakes action on Saturday opens with the first of the four divisions of International Stallion Stakes for freshman trotting fillies. Dustin Jones trainee Draw The Line lands post 4 in the opening dash off a 1:53.2 blowout in her Bluegrass division and will face the likes of Graceful Design, who just missed victory in a 1:53.4 mile in her Bluegrass dash last out, and Cocktailwithakick, who also finished second in Bluegrass action last week.

The third division for the trotting fillies, Race 9, has Soiree Hanover starting from post 3 as she looks to continue her ascent in the divisional rankings. The Lucas Wallin-trained daughter of Walner flew home to win the $275,000 New Jersey Classic Final and followed that victory with a 1:54.2 effort to win the Jim Doherty Memorial at Harrah’s Hoosier Park on Sept. 15. Tim Tetrick pilots Soiree Hanover, the 8-5 morning line favorite, in a race that also includes Bluegrass winner Warrawee Michelle from post 5 for trainer-driver Ake Svanstedt.

Wrapping the stakes action on the day is a matchup between a pair of Bluegrass winners in One World (Muscle Mill) and Miss I La (Walner) as well as a fresh face in John Butenschoen trainee R Melina (Chapter Seven). One World starts from post 2 for trainer Lucas Wallin and driver Dexter Dunn after a 1:53.4 victory; Miss I La also enters from a 1:53.4 victory in her Bluegrass division, but starts from post 8 in rein to Scott Zeron for trainer Noel Daley. R Melina, the 2-1 morning line choice, pops into Lexington off a pocket-pouncing score in the $266,000 Kentuckiana Stallion Management Stakes at Harrah’s Hoosier Park, in which she trotted a 1:53.1 mile to win by 1-1/4 lengths. Tim Tetrick has the drive on the filly by Chapter Seven from post 1.

Divisions one and two of the $285,000 International Stallion Stakes for 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings are named “The Tall Dark Stranger” and are sponsored by the Tall Dark Stranger Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms. The third division goes as “The All Bets Off” and is sponsored by Woodbine Mohawk Park.

For the freshman trotting fillies: the first, second and fourth divisions of the $348,000 International Stallion Stakes go as “The International Moni” and are sponsored by the International Moni Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms. Division three is named “The Chapter Seven” and is sponsored by Blue Chip Farms.

Racing at The Red Mile gets underway at 1 p.m. (EDT). The Red Mile features a $5,000 guarantee in its Pick 5 starting in Race 3 and a $10,000 guarantee in its Pick 4 starting in Race 6. Both the Pick 5 and Pick 4s feature an industry-low takeout of 12 percent.

For a free race program, click here.

For complete race entries, click here: US Trotting entries.

by Ray Cotolo, for The Red Mile