Colts in Bluegrass divisions at Red Mile

LEXINGTON, KY— Kentucky Commonwealth champ Branded By Lindy made a graceful move into open stakes company on Friday (Oct. 1) at The Red Mile when taking the top early and cruising to a 1:52 win in the second of five harness racing divisions for the $356,000 Bluegrass 2-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Trot.

Sent the 4-5 favorite, the son of Chapter Seven secured the lead past a :29 first quarter and cruised uncontested through middle fractions of :57.1 and 1:25. Temporal Hanover made minor first-over gains around the final turn but stalled off the corner as Branded By Lindy bolted to the finish with a :27 final quarter to win by 2-1/2 lengths over pocket-sitter Rose Run Xtra. Rebuff rallied from traffic troubles down the center of the track for third while Temporal Hanover held fourth.

“He always showed he had a lot of speed, and we started going on we were going through some gait issues and clearing them up,” winning trainer Domenico Cecere said after the race of the colt’s progression. “We took our time, and we knew when we came to The Red Mile he would change a lot. We started to clean him up, clean him up and are very impressed in how gentlemanly he is now. And now he finally, he looks almost to me 100 percent.”

A homebred for Lindy Farms of Connecticut, Branded By Lindy collected his sixth victory from eight starts, earning $115,850. Yannick Gingras piloted the $3.60 winner.

BRANDED BY LINDY REPLAY

Driver Mattias Melander kept Periculum flat around the track to nail 4-5 favorite World At War Deo in the opening division.

World At War Deo pressed for the lead past a :27.3 first quarter to pocket B A Superhero into the backstretch. Majestic J sat third while Periculum, wide around the first turn, settled to the pylons in fourth as the field marched single file to a :56.1 half.

Majestic J crept out of third rounding the final turn as World At War Deo attempted to quicken the tempo to three-quarters in 1:25. Off the turn, Majestic J ducked back to the inside while B A Superhero ranged out of the pocket and Periculum gathered momentum to the center of the course.

The Marcus Melander trainee came charging into the final eighth after a leg-weary World At War Deo to get up in time to win by a half length in 1:53.1. B A Superhero finished between the top two in third with Majestic J checking in fourth.

Winning his second race from eight starts, Periculum has banked $67,406 for owners Holly Lane Stud East, Brixton Medical Ab and Howard Taylor. The Muscle Hill colt returned $8 to win.

PERICULUM REPLAY

Gigondas towered three wide off a stalking trip in the third division to win in 1:53.4.

With 8-5 favorite Testing Testing losing stride before the start, Global Pandemic overcame a couple bad steps at the start to land on the lead to a :28.1 first quarter. Keg Stand sat second into the backstretch with Gigondas sitting third and Chulo racing parked as the leader trotted to the half in :57.

Global Pandemic maintained command around the final turn while Keg Stand slowly emerged out of the pocket with Gigondas sitting on his helmet to three-quarters in 1:25.4. The three rolled into the stretch spread across the track, with Global Pandemic folding to Keg Stand before Gigondas strolled alongside the late leader in the final strides and landed a head in front at the beam to win. Ken’s Walner finished fourth.

Trained by Tony Alagna, Gigondas won his second race from seven starts, earning $79,000 for owner Brad Grant. Andrew McCarthy piloted the Trixton colt who paid $11 to win.

GIGONDAS REPLAY

McCarthy and Alagna then teamed to slay even-money favorite Double Deceiver when the aptly named Slay (Chapter Seven) stormed to the lead late to win the fourth division in 1:52.4.

Letsdoit S led the field after a :28.4 first quarter with pylon-starter Golden Wall As sitting the pocket. Double Deceiver raced fifth in a tepid tempo, prompting driver David Miller to blitz Letsdoit S for the lead to a :57.4 half and clear control before the final turn.

Double Deceiver opened enough ground on a lagging Letsdoit S to allow Slay, who tracked his backstretch move, to tuck into the pocket rounding the final turn as the favorite strode to three-quarters in 1:25. In the stretch, Double Deceiver raced extended to the inside while Slay surged from the pocket with fresh legs to edge to the lead in the final sixteenth and win by 1-1/2 lengths. Letsdoit S re-rallied between horses to take third with Golden Wall As taking fourth.

Making his third start, Slay scored his second victory and pushed his bankroll to $39,506 for owners Crawford Farms Racing and James Crawford IV. The Chapter Seven colt paid $8 to win.

SLAY REPLAY

The final division also went to the hands of Andrew McCarthy, who this time teamed with trainer Jim Campbell to collect a 1:53.1 victory.

Classic Hill (Muscle Hill) cleared command past a :28.4 first quarter as McCarthy pulled Stride The Hill off the pegs. He brushed to the top through the backstretch tracked by 8-5 favorite Looks Like Moni, who then assumed command by a :56.2 half. Looks Like Moni held the lead to three-quarters in 1:25 before breaking stride at the bottom of the turn.

That left Stride The Hill on the point through the lane, and the Muscle Hill colt maintained the helm with ease to win over Classic Hill. El Toro Loco gave chase in third while Fast As The Wind took fourth.

“He was a colt training down that was smarter than I was,” Campbell said after the race. “He knew it didn’t count training, so we were forced to kind of take our time with him. First time he went behind the gate, he was a totally different horse and he’s been nothing but an improvement every start. Andy [McCarthy] asked me before the race ‘How is he?’ and I said you can race him any way you want. He’s always giving us a good kick finishing. I wasn’t surprised when Andy moved him [before the half].”

Stride The Hill broke his maiden with the win, his seventh start overall. Fashion Farms LLC owns the winner of $58,850 who paid $6.40 to win.

STRIDE THE HILL REPLAY

The first, third and fifth divisions of the Bluegrass 2-Year-Old Colt & Gelding Trot on Friday were contested as “The Muscle Hill”, sponsored by Southwind Farms. The second and fourth divisions were named “The Walner” and sponsored by the Walner Syndicate.