Confederate headlines $400,000 Bluegrass action

LEXINGTON, Ky.— The Red Mile will host North America’s best harness racing sophomores in competition on Saturday (Sept. 30) in Bluegrass action, including the sport’s current No. 1 horse Confederate (Sweet Lou) when he starts in Race 6, the first division of Bluegrass for 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings.

Confederate cruises into his racing twilight with just a couple of races left before stallion duty calls at the end of his 3-year-old season. The winner of $1.5 million starts from post 6 in the opening division of the $219,000 Captaintreacherous Bluegrass Stakes in rein to Tim Tetrick for trainer Brett Pelling. He enters off a six-race win streak with his most recent victory on Sept. 17 in the $400,000 Kentucky Sires Stakes final. He meets his stablemate Christchurch (Always B Miki), who starts from post 1, along with Little Brown Jug heat winner Ken Hanover (Captaintreacherous) from post 3.

Following the trend of champions on track, the race following features Hambletonian champ Tactical Approach (Tactical Landing) in the second of three divisions for the $234,000 Greenshoe Bluegrass Stakes. The Nancy Takter-trained colt will try to rebound off a loss at 1-5 in the $400,000 Kentucky Sires Stakes final on Sept. 17. Scott Zeron has the drive from post 7 as he faces off against Air Power (Muscle Hill), the Marcus Melander-trained colt once atop the ranks on the road to the Hambletonian who has since rebounded resoundingly to the tune of a 1:51 effort in the $275,000 New Jersey Classic on Sept. 8.

Earlier on the card, the Hambletonian Oaks champ hits the track with Heaven Hanover (Father Patrick) starting in Race 3, the first of three divisions for the $234,000 King Of The North Bluegrass Stakes. The filly will also be trying to rebound – her most recent effort was a fifth-place effort in the $252,000 Pennsylvania Sires Stakes championship on Sept. 3. She encounters a contingent of fillies also looking to get back to the winner’s circle including Quick Stop (Tactical Landing), recently scratched from the $281,940 Elegantimage final; Rose Run Yolanda (Triumphant Caviar), the Ohio champion who was fifth in the Elegantimage; and Walner Payton (Walner), who won an elimination for the Hambletonian Oaks but has since missed victory and was more recently sixth in the $400,000 Kentucky Sires Stakes final.

And then in the race following, Race 4, comes a showdown among the sophomore pacing fillies. The second division of the $159,000 Papi Rob Hanover Bluegrass Stakes pins Sylvia Hanover (Always B Miki) from post 6 against her main rival Twin B Joe Fresh (Roll With Joe) from post 7. But that’s not all: those two have to contend with Kentucky Sires Stakes runner-up Strong Poison (Always B Miki) from post 2, Kentucky Sires Stakes third-place finisher Charleston (Downbytheseaside) from post 3, Adioo Volo winner Always B Naughty (Always B Miki) from post 4 and Simcoe winner Bellisima Hanover (Captaintreacherous) from post 5 – not to mention Kentucky Commonwealth winner Hungry For Love (Stay Hungry) starting from post 1.

Saturday’s card opens with the first division of the Papi Rob Hanover where McSeaside (Downbytheseaside) will look to continue building off her upset loss in the $300,000 Ohio Sires Stakes championship. Dexter Dunn grabs the drive on the Ron Burke-trained filly off a 1:51.4 victory in Delaware, Ohio and has the likes of James Lynch consolation winners Mollop Hanover and Front Page Story to face among three other fillies entered.

Race 2 is the opening division of three for the Greenshoe and features 2022 Peter Haughton winner Kilmister (Chapter Seven) on the comeback trail. The colt trained by Marcus Melander lands post 1 with driver Brian Sears off a second-place finish to Ari Ferrari J in the $400,000 Kentucky Sires Stakes championship. Also drawn into this division are Espresso (Chapter Seven), a 1:53.3 winner last season on the Grand Circuit in Lexington, along with Hambletonian elimination winner Point Of Perfect (Walner) and Kentucky Commonwealth champ Prince Of Honor (Walner).

The second of the three divisions for the King Of The North goes as Race 5 and gathers two state champions into competition. Railee Something (International Moni), the Pennsylvania champ, starts from post 2 and right to the inside of Mommamia Volo (Tactical Landing), the upset winner in the Kentucky championship, from post 3. Yannick Gingras drives Railee Something for trainer Ron Burke and Todd McCarthy has the call on Mommamia Volo for conditioner Carter Pinske. Their competition also includes Ake Svanstedt’s filly Special Way (Walner), last year’s Breeders Crown champ who was upended by 1-1/2 lengths in the Kentucky Sires Stakes final at odds of 2-5.

Adios Pace winner Cannibal (Sweet Lou) starts in Race 8, the second of three divisions for the Captaintreacherous. The colt comes in off a brutal mile in the Little Brown Jug final where he parked through opening fractions of :25.4 and :53.3 before folding. Yannick Gingras stays with the Nancy Takter trainee from post 2 against a bunch that includes Kentucky Commonwealth winner Admiral Hill (Sweet Lou) from post 7 in rein to Dexter Dunn for trainer Chris Ryder.

Mambacita (Tactical Landing), another who excelled over the clay as a freshman, will try to rekindle that spark from post 7 in Race 9, the third division for the King Of The North. The Tony Alagna pupil scored back-to-back wins in the Kentucky Sires Stakes back in August and enters off a fifth-place finish from a parked mile in the $400,000 final. Scott Zeron has the drive from post 7.

The last division of the Captaintreacherous, Race 10, gives some class relief to Command (Captaintreacherous) as he escapes his stablemate Confederate off a runner-up effort in the Kentucky Sires Stakes final. Todd McCarthy drives the Brett Pelling trainee from post 1 against the likes of Act Fast (Downbytheseaside), who was foiled as the 9-5 favorite in the $300,000 Ohio Sires Stakes championship, and El Rey (Captaintreacherous), who was foiled as the 6-5 favorite in the $100,000 Kentucky Commonwealth final.

Bluegrass action on Saturday wraps with the last division for the Greenshoe and draws Hambletonian runner-up Oh Well (Muscle Hill) into post 7 in the field of eight. Tim Tetrick drives the Marcus Melander student as the 8-5 choice on the morning line against a bunch including Ake Svanstedt’s Kierkegaard K (Chapter Seven) from post 8, Dire Straits (Muscle Hill) from post 3 and Little Expensive (Muscle Hill) from post 1 among others.

Each division of the Captaintreacherous Bluegrass, Papi Rob Hanover Bluegrass and Greenshoe Bluegrass are sponsored by their respective stallion syndicates and Hanover Shoe Farms. Each division for the King Of The North Bluegrass is presented by Kountry Lane Standardbreds.

Saturday’s card has 13 races total going postward beginning at 1 p.m. (EDT). The Red Mile features a $5,000 guarantee in the Pick 5, starting in Race 3, and a $10,000 guarantee in the Pick 4, starting in Race 6. Both the Pick 5 and Pick 4s feature an industry-low takeout of 12 percent.

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

by Ray Cotolo, for The Red Mile