LEXINGTON, KY– The final program of the season at The Red Mile contains a slew of harness racing stakes action, consisting of the $79,000 Allerage Mare Pace, $66,000 Allerage Mare Trot, $134,000 Allerage Trot, $148,000 Allerage Open, two divisions of the $232,000 Glen Garnsey Memorial, $262,500 Kentucky Filly Futurity, $450,000 Tattersalls Pace, and the $527,000 Kentucky Futurity, set to go on Saturday, Oct. 10.
The Allerage Mare Pace gathers a field of four, who are Skippin By, Show Runner, Color's A Virgin, and Inittowinafortune. Color's A Virgin, a daughter of Always A Virgin out of the Allamerican Ingot mare Full Color, is the most distinguished in the group, earning $853,598 in her career as well as winning 24 in 43 starts. She's shipping in from Hoosier Park off a 1:52.1 win in an Indiana Sires Stakes elimination. She's conditioned by Brian Brown for the interests of Emerald Highlands Farms.
European sensation D'one makes her return in the Allerage Mare Trot after breaking in a Maple Leaf Trot elimination on Sept. 12. While campaigning in the United States, she has won two races, the $181,450 Fresh Yankee on Aug. 8 at the Meadowlands and the $177,000 Muscle Hill on Aug. 21 at Vernon Downs. The mare by Donato Hanover out of the Supergill mare Giant Diablo is owned by Stall Kenny 23 and conditioned by Roger Walmann. An earner of $1,060,355, D'one enters off of a 1:55 qualifier on Oct. 2 at The Red Mile.
The Allerage Trot attracts D'one's stablemate Magic Tonight, who qualified in 1:55.4 on Oct. 2 at Lexington. Since shipping to America, the Andover Hall trotter, out of the Self Possessed mare Miss Possessed, owned by Srf Stable is winless in three starts, yet has 20 wins in 58 tries on his resume and $1,362,296 in earnings.
Against Magic Tonight are Il Sogno Dream, who won the $137,500 Dayton Trotting Derby on Oct. 2, and Obrigado, who scratched sick from the Dayton Trotting Derby. Il Sogno Dream, a Cantab Hall trotter, out of the Fill V mare Le Rev, trained by Christopher Beaver for connections Bill and Dan Manes and Leonard and Randy Christopher, has four wins this season and a mark of 1:52.2 taken at Scioto Downs. Obrigado, a gelding by Boy Band out of Malimony by Malabar Man and is conditioned by Paul Kelly for owners Paul Kelly Racing Stable, L. Higgins, W. Weaver, and Stable 45, has three wins this season, one of them being in the $200,000 Crawford Farms Trot.
Pacing sensation State Treasurer faces nine foes in the Allerage Pace. A winner of 30 races in 87 starts, the Real Desire pacer foaled by the Western Ideal mare Ideal Treasure has $1,796,214 to his credit, as well as wins in the $138,500 Dayton Pacing Derby, $513,750 Canadian Pacing Derby, and the $150,000 Roll With Joe. Doo Wop Hanover, one of the few pacers to beat him this season, draws better than the horse trained by Dr. Ian Moore for owners Sally and Paul Macdonald.
The first of two splits for the Glen Garnsey Memorial features the return of Bluegrass-division winner Wicked Little Minx. She meets up once more with Bettor Be Steppin, whom she defeated in the Bluegrass on Oct. 3. Owned by Courant A B and trained by Nancy Johansson, Wicked Little Minx, a filly by Rocknroll Hanover out of the Jenna's Beach Boy mare Beachy Lady, will start from post six. Bettor Be Steppin, racing for the interests Val D'Or Farms, Rojan Stables, and Ted Gewertz and trainer Joe Holloway, will start from post one. She's by Bettor's Delight out of Two Steppin' Sally by Western Hanover.
The latter division matches up the other Bluegrass-split winners Divine Caroline and Bedroomconfessions, trained by Joe Holloway and Tony Alagna respectively. Also entered is Devil Child, who makes her first start for her new interests of Susan Oakes and Crawford Farms, as well as for trainer Chris Oakes. The American Ideal filly out of the Astreos mare Kattimon finished second to Bedroomconfessions, owned by Riverview Racing and Alagna Racing, in her 1:54.1 win. Divine Caroline, winning her Bluegrass division in 1:53.2, is owned by Val D'Or Farms, Ted Gewertz, Rojan Stables, and Michael Ouriel.
The Kentucky Filly Futurity highlights a matchup between Mission Brief and Wild Honey, both of whom were Bluegrass winners on Oct. 3. Mission Brief, a Muscle Hill daughter out of the Varenne mare Southwind Serena owned by Burke Racing Stables, Our Horse Cents Stables, Jerry and Theresa Silva Stables, and Weaver Bruscemi, has won eight in 10 starts this season, taking a mark of 1:51.3 at the Meadowlands in her Hambletonian elimination. Wild Honey, the winner of the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks, is owned by Christina Takter, John and Jim Fielding, and Herby Liverman and trained by Jimmy Takter. She has won five races in 12 starts this year, with her mark being 1:52.2 in the Hambletonian Oaks.
The Tattersalls gathers a field of 12 to compete, including Artspeak, Lost For Words, and In The Arsenal. Artspeak, finishing fifth in the final of the Little Brown Jug, competes for Brittany Farms, Marvin Katz, Joe Sbrocco, and In The Gym Partners. He has only won four races in 14 starts this year, but has a mark of 1:48.2 taken at Mohawk in a division of the Simcoe Stakes. Lost For Words, who was second in the Little Brown Jug, is a Well Said colt out of the Real Desire mare Thou Shalt Not owned by Country Club Acres, W. Robinson, Richard Lombardo, and Strollin Stable. In The Arsenal, returning off a 1:52.3 win in the Bluegrass, is owned by White Birch Farms and In The Arsenal Racing. Kelvin Harrison trains the American Ideal colt out of the On The Road Again mare Ladyotra.
The finale on the program is the Kentucky Futurity, which will be raced in one heat. Hambletonian winner Pinkman headlines the bunch, shipping in from a 1:53.3 win in the $532,000 Canadian Trotting Classic on Sept. 19 at Mohawk Racetrack. The Jimmy Takter-trained son of Explosive Matter from the Angus Hall mare Margie Seelster has 10 wins in 14 starts this season and $1,486,965 in earnings. In his career, he has won 16 of 22 starts and earned $2,053,925. He's owned by Christina Takter, John and Jim Fielding, Herb Liverman, and John Mc Clelland.
Trainer Jimmy Takter has four other entrants, being French Laundry, The Bank, Uncle Lasse, and Canepa Hanover. Crazy Wow, winner of a Bluegrass division and is trained by Ron Burke, supplemented into this event. He's owned by Our Horse Cents Stables, Jt45, Jerry and Theresa Silva Stables, and Deo Volente Farms.
By Ray Cotolo, for The Red Mile