Prince Of Honor looking to remain perfect at Red Mile

Lexington, KY — On Tuesday (Sept. 20) The Red Mile will host eight $50,000 divisions of the Kentucky Golden Rod series for freshman and sophomore female and male trotters and pacers on a 15-race card. The undefeated Prince Of Honor (Walner) takes on nine harness racing rivals in his pursuit of a Kentucky crown in the division for 2-year-old male trotters.

Trained by Carter Pinske, Prince Of Honor made his debut in the second leg of this series on Aug. 8 and broke his maiden by a nose in 1:56.4. The son of Princess Aurora had Todd McCarthy holding the lines and exhibited a strong closing kick for the victory.

In the third leg, Prince Of Honor left from post position nine, again with McCarthy in the sulky, but did not leave himself with as much ground to make up in the drive to the wire. The gelding overhauled the leader and post time favorite Buckhead Ridge (Dexter Dunn) at the top of the stretch to stop the clock in 1:56.1.

Prince Of Honor was sent off as the favorite for the first time in his young career in the fourth leg on Sept. 4. He and McCarthy sat in third for the first half-mile, then were shuffled back to fifth at the three-quarter pole. Undaunted, the gelding moved into third in the drive for the wire and again bested Buckhead Ridge (Christian Lind) to record his third win in as many starts in a lifetime best 1:56.

For the series final, which is carded as race eight, Prince Of Honor has drawn post position three and is 7-2 on the morning line with McCarthy in the bike.

Bred by Marvin Katz and Al Libfield, Prince Of Honor is the second foal out of Princess Aurora, who earned $327,323 during her career. Princess Aurora was second in the 2016 Breeders Crown final for her age, gait and sex to Dan Patch Award winner Ariana G. She is also a daughter of Vulcanize who amassed $621,633 during her racing days.

Prince Of Honor was purchased for $105,000 by Pinske Stables and David Hoese at last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale.

The gelding has earned $22,500 at this juncture of his career.

The other seven divisions of the series consist of three trotting contests and four pacing events with full fields.

The Red Mile will offer a $10,000 guaranteed Pick-4 (races six through nine) in conjunction with the U.S. Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering program.

The conclusion of Kentucky Sire Stakes action coincides with a nine-day hiatus for The Red Mile as the Lexington oval prepares for the Grand Circuit to arrive on Thursday (Sept. 29)

First post is at 1 p.m. EDT.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Kimberly French, for the Red Mile