Manchego tries for 10 in International Stakes

LEXINGTON, KY– Winning all nine of her harness racing starts this season, Manchego goes to extend her unbeaten record from post eight in the second of five divisions of the $289,000 Muscle Hill International Stallion Stakes (ISS) Two-Year-Old Filly Trot, sponsored by Southwind Farms, at The Red Mile on Friday, October 6.

Taking her Bluegrass division by seven lengths in 1:56.1, Manchego, by Muscle Hill from the Cantab Hall mare Secret Magic, has earned $534,948 for owners Black Horse Racing, John Fielding, and Herb Liverman with wins including in the $307,500 Peaceful Way, $252,000 Pennsylvania Sires Stakes (PASS) Championship, and the $330,800 Jim Doherty Memorial. Yannick Gingras will steer for trainer Jimmy Takter.

Second to the Kentucky Sires Stakes Champ Top Expectations, Lily Stride starts from post three in the opening division of the ISS. The odds-on favorite in the Bluegrass last week, Lily Stride, by Muscle Hill from the Donato Hanover mare Sterling Volo, has hit the board in all eight of her starts this season, including four wins and $183,652 in earnings for owners Emilio and Maria Rosati. Conditioned by Mark Harder, Tim Tetrick will drive.

Hey Blondie, runner-up to Manchego in the PASS Championship, competes against Lily Stride, starting from post seven. Owned by Steve Jones, Mary Kinsey Arnold, Paul Bordogna, and David Mc Duffee, Hey Blondie, by Cantab Hall out of the Muscles Yankee mare Winbak Blondie, has won three races in eight starts this season, compiling $139,848 in earnings. The Chuck Sylvester trainee enters off a third-place finish in the $240,000 Kentuckiana Stakes, and will be driven by Andrew McCarthy.

Bluegrass winners Seviyorum, winning her division in 1:56.2, and Seven Karats, trotting in 1:56.3, go against Basquiat, a Jimmy Takter-trained filly by Cantab Hall from the Windsong's Legacy mare Thatsnotmyname, in the third ISS split. A winner of five races in seven starts including the $240,000 Kentuckiana Stakes, Basquiat, earning $165,151 for owner Order By Stable, starts from post seven with Yannick Gingras in the bike.

Ohio Sires Stakes-star Looking For Zelda makes her second start on the Grand Circuit in the fourth ISS division, entering off an eight-and-a-quarter length lifetime-best victory in a $30,000 division of the Simpson Stakes at Harrah's Philadelphia, trotting in 1:56.1. Trained by Norm Parker for owner Rob Key, Looking For Zelda, second as the 1-9 favorite in the $250,000 Ohio Sires Stakes Championship, has six wins to her credit in eight starts, earning $192,675. Starting from post two, Tony Hall will drive.

Julie Miller-trainee Strawberry Hanover neighbors Looking For Zelda, starting from post three. Owned by Marvin Katz and Al Libfeld, the winner of one race in four starts this season exits a swift qualifier at The Red Mile, trotting a 1:52.2 mile following a break in the PASS Championship. Earning $33,654 so far this season, Andy Miller will drive.

Sevenbuyeleven and Top Expectations, winning their Bluegrass divisions in 1:55.1 and 1:56.1 respectively, occupy the outer posts in the final ISS division, starting from posts seven and eight respectively.

Sevenbuyeleven, a Linda Toscano-trained filly by Chapter Seven from the Muscles Yankee mare Musclelini, has earned $59,267 over seven starts, winning two, for owner Kenneth Jacobs, and Tim Tetrick will be in the sulky.

A winner of three races in nine starts, Top Expectations, by Cantab Hall from the Kadabra mare Exceed Expectation, races for owner Daniel Plouffe. Earning $201,378 over nine starts this season, including three wins, Marcus Miller pilots for trainer Erv Miller.

First-race post for the Friday, October 6 program is set for 1:00p.m. EDT.

By Ray Cotolo, for The Red Mile