Bluegrass Stakes stacked on Saturday

LEXINGTON, KY— Saturday’s (Oct. 2) harness racing stakes slate at The Red Mile is stacked with freshmen contests spanned through five divisions of the $390,000 Norman Woolworth Memorial Bluegrass 2-Year-Old Filly Pace and three splits of the $330,000 Stay Hungry Bluegrass 2-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Pace.

The trotting fillies begin the afternoon’s stakes action with trainer Nancy Takter’s burgeoning star Mon Cheval starting from post 1 as the even-money favorite on the morning line. A daughter of Father Patrick from champion mare Shake It Cerry, Mon Cheval ships to Lexington off a runner-up finish from an overland trip in the $253,000 Pennsylvania Sires Stakes final at The Meadows on Sept. 3. Dexter Dunn stays with Mon Cheval after qualifying her a week ago over The Red Mile in 1:57.2.

Division two of the Norman Woolworth lures Date Night and her unbeaten record onto the Grand Circuit off a sweep of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series. The Julie Miller trainee lands post 3 with Andy Miller in the bike as she faces seven foes including Delilah Hanover, who enters off an eighth-place finish in the Peaceful Way final. Richard “Nifty” Norman conditions Delilah Hanover as she tries to rebound in rein to Todd McCarthy from post 8.

Raised By Lindy fronts the third division as the 7-5 choice off a second-place finish in the $200,000 Kentuckiana at Harrah’s Hoosier Park last week. Yannick Gingras remains with the Domenico Cecere trainee, who won over this track on Sept. 6 in a maiden event with a time of 1:55.3, from post 3.

The outermost post in the seven-horse contest went to Fashion Schooner, a regally bred and precocious pupil from the Jim Campbell barn making her second start off a fast-closing debut in the Kindergarten Series. Tim Tetrick pilots the daughter of Walner out of 2009 Hambletonian Oaks winner Broadway Schooner.

Campbell and Tetrick team in the following Woolworth division with 3-2 choice Misswalner Fashion from post 6. This Walner filly has three wins from four starts, all coming in New Jersey. She treks west off a 1:54.1 open-length victory in the Kindergarten Series and starts inside of Tony Alagna trainee Valentina Blu, who finished third in the Mohawk Million. Andrew McCarthy steers that Chapter Seven filly from post 8.

Another even-money morning-line choice starts in the last Woolworth division in Lilbitalexis, a Richard “Nifty” Norman trainee whose only loss came when she broke stride at the start of the $40,000 Garden State Trot. Otherwise, the Walner filly has five wins to her credit – her most recent being a 1:52.2 stroll in a Kindergarten prelim at The Meadowlands. Dexter Dunn has the drive from post 4 as she faces the likes of Brickhouse Babe, runner-up at 94-1 in the Jim Doherty Memorial, and Peyton Hanover, who finished third in the $309,680 Peaceful Way Stakes.

The Stay Hungry gets underway early in the card as the afternoon’s third race with a pair of unbeaten records at risk. One is from Brian Brown’s pupil Gulf Shores, entering this event as the 7-5 morning-line choice undefeated from six starts.

The Ohio Sires Stakes champ pins his unblemished card against that of Loukes Perry, who enters on a one-race winning streak. Ronnie Wrenn Jr. sticks with Gulf Shores out of post 7 while Yannick Gingras picks up Loukes Perry from post 3 after Wrenn had steered that Burke trainee to a 1:53.2 victory at The Meadows.

Pebble Beach leads the second division of the Stay Hungry off a 1:48.4 score in the $250,000 Kentucky Championship Series final. Todd McCarthy stays with the Noel Daley trainee as he scores from post 3, which is right to the outside of the Championship runner-up River Ness.

Six Feet Apart will step up in class with this contest, having won the companion $50,000 Kentucky Commonwealth Series final in 1:50.4. Tim Tetrick picks up that drive from trainer Brian Brown and starts from post 7. The stacked contest also includes Tim Twaddle trainee Fourever Boy, shipping south from a third-place finish in the $650,960 Metro Pace final. Mike Wilder has the drive from post 8.

The final division of the Stay Hungry attracts the Sweet Lou half-brother to Captaintreacherous, JM’s Finaltreasure, entering from a 1:53.4 victory in the Renaissance Pace at Freehold. Yannick Gingras reunites with the Ron Burke trainee as the 9-5 morning-line choice from post 6 while also matching up against

Wearinmysixshooter, runner-up in the $650,960 Metro Pace. Dexter Dunn has the assignment behind that Nancy Takter trainee from post 4.

Each division of the Norman Woolworth Bluegrass 2-Year-Old Filly Pace is sponsored by Arden Homestead Stable, Elbridge & Peter Gerry, Stoner Manor & Menhammar Stuteri AB, Jorgen Jahre Jr., William DeVan, Lawrence DeVan and LST Stables. The Stay Hungry is presented by The Stay Hungry Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms.

The 11-race card Saturday gets underway with first-race post time at 1 p.m. (EDT).

For the full program click here

by Ray Cotolo, for The Red Mile