Metro Pace winner returning to Red Mile

LEXINGTON, Ky.— Fallout (Captaintreacherous), who dipped from the Kentucky Championship Series and won the $740,000 Metro Pace at Woodbine Mohawk Park, will ship back south to The Red Mile to compete in the third and closing harness racing division of the $300,900 International Stallion Stakes (ISS) for 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings on Saturday (Oct. 5).

Tony Alagna trains Fallout, a colt by Captaintreacherous and a full-brother to stakes winner Captain Kirk. Fallout had just one win on his card before heading to Canada for harness racing’s richest race for freshman pacing males, in which he roared home as the 8-5 second choice to clock a lifetime-best mile of 1:49.1. Tim Tetrick stays with the 8-5 morning line chalk who starts from post 4 against a field of nine in the afternoon’s seventh race.

Saturday’s card opens with the first division of the ISS colt pace, which will see Kentucky Championship Series winner Louprint return to the track. Listed on the morning line at 6-5, Louprint draws post 3 off a swooping victory in 1:48.4 to keep in tack his mostly unblemished record; six wins from seven starts with one runner-up finish. Ronnie Wrenn Jr. retains the drive behind the Sweet Lou colt for trainer Ron Burke as he’ll face eight others including New York Sires Stakes champ Thirsty Thursday from post 2 as well as a pair of regally bred colts to the outside – Caviart Act Two, out of stakes-winner Caviart Ally, from post 8 and Strangerinthenight, out of stakes-winner Tall Drink Hanover, from post 9.

The middle ISS division for pacing colts has a 2-1 morning line choice in Chris Ryder trainee American Son, who escapes Louprint after finishing third against him in the Kentucky Championship Series final. Dexter Dunn pilots the son of American Ideal from post 2, just to the inside of 7-2 second choice Banderas – a Tall Dark Stranger colt out of Breeders Crown winner Reflect With Me. James MacDonald keeps the drive on the Tony Alagna pupil after finishing fifth in the Metro Pace back on Sept. 21.

Champagne Problems fronts the first of five divisions for the $342,000 ISS for 2-year-old trotting fillies. The Tactical Landing filly lands the pylon post as the even-money morning-line favorite following a 1:54 victory in the Jim Doherty Memorial at Harrah’s Hoosier Park on Sept. 13. Dexter Dunn drives the Nancy Takter trainee in a field that includes New York Sires Stakes champ Royal Mission, who starts from post 3 after finishing third to Champagne Problems in the Jim Doherty Memorial. Scott Zeron drives the Chapter Seven full-sister to stakes-winners Slay and Ahundreddollarbill for trainer Marcus Melander.

World champion Atlanta’s first foal, Deja Blu, looks to build on her four-race winning streak in the second ISS filly trot. The Nancy Takter-trained Muscle Hill filly makes her first start since taking the $100,000 Kentucky Commonwealth final as the 1-5 favorite on Sept. 15. Yannick Gingras drives the 7-5 morning line choice from post 6 against a bunch that features New Jersey Classic winner R Charm out of post 8 and Margareta Hanover, a Maharajah half-sister to champion Jiggy Jog S, from post 1.

Kentuckiana winner Kendra is the slight favorite in the third ISS division. The Walner filly popped pocket to a dead-heat victory in the $222,000 stake at Harrah’s Hoosier Park on Sept. 20 and will get a new pilot in James MacDonald. Nancy Takter trains the filly who starts from post 6, just to the outside of Peaceful Way elimination winner R Dutchess and two slots inside of Luna Lovegood, Dexter Dunn’s choice in the race for trainer Marcus Melander and a three-time preliminary winner in the Kentucky Championship Series.

A pair of big-price 2-year-olds land the outermost posts in the octet competing in the fourth ISS filly trot. Voguish, a Gimpanzee half-sister to millionaire Venerable who sold for $535,000 last fall in Harrisburg, starts from post 7 and just to the inside of Kadena, an $800,000 Lexington-Selected purchase last fall and a filly by Gimpanzee out of world champion and current Red Mile track-record holder Mission Brief. Andy McCarthy will drive Voguish for trainer Andrew Harris off her dead-heat win with Kendra in the $222,000 Kentuckiana Stakes while Dexter Dunn retains the assignment on Kadena for trainer Marcus Melander as she enters from a runner-up finish in the Kentucky Commonwealth final. The stacked fourth division also includes Kentucky Championship Series winner Aprefect Annie from post 6, who starts just to the outside of 9-5 morning line favorite Pink Chou Chou as she looks for her second win in her career.

Country Victory earns morning-line favoritism honors in the closing ISS split for trotting fillies. The Melvin Schmucker-trained daughter of International Moni makes her first start off a runner-up finish as the 1-5 chalk in the $26,500 Standardbred Stakes at Delaware, Ohio back on Sept. 18. Yannick Gingras picks up the drive from post 5 in the field of eight that also includes Spicy Nice, a Nancy Takter-trained filly by Tactical Landing out of stakes-winner Maven, starting from post 8 in rein to Andy McCarthy.

Divisions one and three of the ISS 2-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Pace are named “The Tall Dark Stranger” and are sponsored by the Tall Dark Stranger Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms. The middle split is named “The Summa Cum Laude” and is sponsored by Midland Acres.

The first division of the ISS 2-Year-Old Filly Trot is named “The Norman Woolworth Memorial” and the fourth division is named “The Margareta Wallenius-Kleberg Memorial”. Both are sponsored by Arden Homestead Stable, E. T. Gerry Jr., Peter Gerry, Stoner Manor Inc., Menhammar Stuteri AB, Jorgen Jahre Jr., LST Stable, Lawrence DeVan and William DeVan. The second division is named “The Chapter Seven” and is sponsored by Blue Chip Farms, while divisions three and five are named “The International Moni” and are sponsored by the International Moni Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms.

Saturday’s program features 15 races total. First-race post time is 1 p.m. (EDT).

For complete race entries, click here: US Trotting results.

by Ray Cotolo, for The Red Mile