Selfie Queen rebounds in KY Championship Series

LEXINGTON, KY — After breaking stride while in tight quarters in the last preliminary, harness racing driver Dexter Dunn pointed Selfie Queen to the front and charged around the track to win in the $40,000 third round of the Kentucky Championship Series for 2-year-old trotting fillies on Monday (Aug. 23) at The Red Mile.

Dunn left the gate with little hurry while Disclosure dashed to the front and took the field by the quarter in :27.1 before yielding command to More Than Ever into the backstretch. As action on top calmed, Dunn tipped Selfie Queen off the pegs from fourth and brushed to the lead approaching a :54.4 half.

He then slowed the tempo to three-quarters in 1:23.3 and accelerated off the corner to open five lengths on stablemate American Beauty as she rallied into second. Selfie Queen sprinted home in :27.4 to stop the clock in 1:51.2, finishing 7-1/4 lengths better than American Beauty while Spendthemoneyhoney gave chase another two lengths behind in third.

Owned by Robert Leblanc, David Anderson and John Fielding, Selfie Queen won her third race from six starts, earning $56,250. Nancy Takter trains the daughter of Muscle Hill who paid $3.00 to win.

SELFIE QUEEN REPLAY

Double Deceiver darted through the stretch with a :26.2 final quarter to collar his rivals in the lone $40,000 division of the Kentucky Championship Series for 2-year-old trotting colts and geldings.

Keg Stand, the 7-5 favorite, cleared control passing a :27.3 first quarter while Double Deceiver was shuffled to third and stayed at the pegs moving up the backstretch. Rebuff tipped first over from fifth into a :56.1 half and made steady gains on Keg Stand rolling to three-quarters in 1:25.3.

That pair dueled for the lead at the top of the stretch while a gap opened for Double Deceiver to fan from off the pylons to the center of the course. With open racetrack ahead, the Cantab Hall colt cruised past his competition to win by 1-3/4 lengths in 1:52.4 while Rebuff took second and Keg stand faded to third.

Trained by Carter Pinske for the Pinske Stables and Makenna Pinske, Double Deceiver won his third race from five starts, banking $75,290. David Miller drove the gelding who paid $7.40 to win.

DOUBLE DECEIVER REPLAY

Date Night ($2.10) led the winners of the three $20,000 Kentucky Commonwealth divisions for 2-year-old trotting fillies with an open-length score in 1:53.3 for trainer Julie Miller and driver Andy Miller. Pauline Hanover ($6.60) popped pocket to take the first division by a head in 1:54.4 for trainer Carter Pinske and driver Dexter Dunn, while Moni Heist ($2.40) later pulled a similar move to take the final split by two lengths in 1:55.4 in rein to Yannick Gingras for trainer Domenico Cecere.

Golden Wall As ($3.20) topped the three $20,000 divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series for 2-year-old trotting colts and geldings with a gate-to-wire score in 1:53.4 for trainer Anette Lorentzon and driver Dexter Dunn. Easy Rider ($4.20) rolled off cover in the first division to win for driver Andy Miller and trainer Julie Miller in 1:54.3, and Branded By Lindy ($2.10) took the other division going away in 1:54 for driver Scott Zeron and trainer Domenico Cecere.

Point totals for both the Kentucky Championship and Kentucky Commonwealth Series are available at the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission website (https://khrc.ky.gov/new_docs.aspx?cat=80).

Racing resumes at The Red Mile on Tuesday (Aug. 24) with two $40,000 third-round Kentucky Championship Series splits for pacing freshmen, one for the boys and one for the fillies. The card also features three $20,000 Kentucky Commonwealth divisions – two for the fillies and one for the colts and geldings. First-race post time is 1 p.m. (EDT).

For full race results, click here.

By Ray Cotolo, for The Red Mile