Gates Hanover impresses in $328,000 Bluegrass

LEXINGTON, KY— Driver Dexter Dunn sprung the latch with Gates Hanover (Walner) in the straightaway to score in the first of three harness racing divisions of the $328,000 Captain Corey Bluegrass Stakes, for freshman trotting colts and geldings, on Thursday afternoon (Sept. 29) at The Red Mile.

Off the 5-2 favorite, Dunn slid Gates Hanover to the front before yielding for the pocket as French Wine crossed to the lead past a :28.2 first quarter. Strolling up the backside to a :56.3 half, French Wine attempted to quicken on the turn as Luke’s Bar progressed uncovered on the rim to soon match strides with the pacesetter by three-quarters in 1:24.4.

Luke’s Bar forged to a narrow lead off the corner as French Wine folded while Dunn fanned to the center of the course with the Ake Svanstedt pupil and hustled in the final eighth to the lead to stop the clock in 1:52.3, three-quarter lengths better than Luke’s Bar. International Man sat a pylon trip for third and French Wine settled for fourth.

“He’s just really handy,” Dexter Dunn said of Gates Hanover after the race. “His manners are great, he gets off the gate really well and, once he gets onto a helmet, he relaxes – a lot like Svanstedt’s [other] horses. They’re good to drive and its always a pleasure to drive for them.”

GATES HANOVER REPLAY

Gates Hanover collected his second win from seven starts to push his bankroll to $121,757 for owner S R F Stable. He returned $7.44 to win.

A first-half snooze became a wake-up call for the competition as 22-1 shot Espresso (Chapter Seven) scooted to an easy lead with a soft pace and sealed the job to take the second Captain Corey division.

Espresso snagged the top from post 8 to a :28.3 first quarter with Designer Drink sitting second and Brodeur in third. The field stretched up the backside despite Espresso slowing proceedings to a :58 half while also widening to an open-length advantage. Driver Andy Miller then released the pads and sped to three-quarters in 1:25.3 with the backfield spinning their wheels to close.

The Julie Miller-trained gelding slowed to the finish but built enough cushion to withstand a late-charging Crown by 1-1/4 lengths with Excaliber Bi rallying for third and Kierkegaard K taking fourth.

ESPRESSO REPLAY

“Nobody was really leaving, I don’t think anybody wanted the front and neither did I, really,” Andy Miller said after the race. “He got away [with] cheap enough [fractions] and it worked out. He impressed me pretty good today… off a slow half like that and then he took off and kept digging right to the wire.”

Winning his fourth race from eight starts, Espresso has now banked $162,500 for owners Andy Miller Stable, Andy Willinger, Mortgage Boys Stable and L Berg Inc. He paid $46.16 to win.

Dexter Dunn bookended the Captain Corey splits when delivering 4-5 favorite Ari Ferrari J (Walner) to a maiden-breaking victory in 1:54.2.

Ari Ferrari J floated off the wings to race fifth to a :28.4 first quarter set by Kimmeridgian, who then obliged for the pocket when Purple Lord circled to the front in the backstretch. By a :57 half, and with just five of the seven maintaining stride throughout, Cecil Hanover moved first over with Ari Ferrari J in tow to tackle Purple Lord to three-quarters in 1:25.3.

Purple Lord repelled that challenge angling for home but gave even pursuit when Ari Ferrari J motored to the lead. Upstaged rallied down the center to secure second, beaten a half length, with Purple Lord settling for third and Kimmeridgian taking fourth.

“He just had one thing go wrong after another, no fault of his,” winning trainer Tony Alagna said after the race. “The good thing about it is Ken Jacobs, who owns him, couldn’t have been more patient with the horse. And Dexter never wavered; Dexter always knew the horse had ability. He rode him out the whole time and that’s been a huge benefit to get this horse where he’s at today.”

ARI FERRARI J REPLAY

Despite now having one victory from nine outings, Ari Ferrari J has $202,600 in his coffers for Ken Jacobs. The colt paid $3.76 to win.

Each division of the Captain Corey Bluegrass Stakes was sponsored by the Captain Corey Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farm.

To read about the McWicked Bluegrass Stakes divisions for fillies and view replays, click here.

For complete race results, click here.

by Ray Cotolo, for The Red Mile