Lexington, KY – On yet another sweltering Sunday evening infringed upon by some intriguing pop-up storms, The Red Mile hosted a preview of future stars of tomorrow as freshman pacing colts demonstrated their talents over the historic mile oval.
Brandon Blvd provided an upset, which was as interesting as the weather, in the first $80,000 leg of the Kentucky Championship Series by a measured neck.
Piloted by Hall of Famer Tim Tetrick, Brandon Blvd left from post position two in the field of eight. The son of Downbytheseaside-Alexis Faith was overlooked at odds of 17-1 for conditioner Andrew Harris.
The third longest shot on the board, Brandon Blvd sat in fifth through an open quarter mile in :29.3 established by Funky Buddha (Todd McCarthy, post position three, 10-1). Shuffled back to sixth at the half as favorite Panther Hill (Dexter Dunn, post position seven) assumed command in :58.4, Brandon Blvd moved into fifth by the three-quarter pole as Funky Buddha re-engaged to take the top spot in 1:28.1.
Heading around the final turn, Panther Hill overtook Funky Buddha with Brandon Blvd in fourth. Despite a :25.4 final panel for the favorite, Brandon Blvd outlasted his rival with a :25.2 drive to the line. Funky Buddha retained his position to come home third.
Bred by Crawford Farms, the winner is the second foal out of the very talented race mare Alexis Faith (American Ideal, $586,456). The colt, under the name of Wayne Harvey, was purchased for $425,000 by William Pollock, Bruce Areman and his trainer at the 2024 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale.
Brandon Blvd is a half sibling to Karma (Tall Dark Stranger, $127,065). The colt’s granddam is none other than Cannae Cammie (Cam’s Card Shark, $538,140). His dam is a full sister to Can’t Beach That (Somebeachsomewhere, $478,221), Last Beach (Somebeachsomewhere, $160,048) and 2021 Horse of the Year Test Of Faith (Art Major, $2.41 million).
Brandon Blvd paid $36.82 to his supporters.
Commonwealth Series provides scintillating finishes
Show Me Your Ace (Dunn), Hurrikanelouexiii (Andrew McCarthy) and Papi Rick (A. McCarthy) captured their respective divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series by a head, neck and nose, respectively.
Trained by Chris Ryder, Show Me Your Ace was the public’s second selection in the field of seven at odds of nearly 3-1. The son of American Ideal-Trip Aces Hanover is owned by his trainer, Anne Demers, Lawrence Minowitz and Ake Svanstedt.
Bred by In The Dark Racing LLC, Show Me Your Ace broke his maiden in his first trip to the gate and has now earned $15,000. The colt was a $150,000 purchase at last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale.
Show Me Your Ace provided $7.78 to those who selected him on their tickets and stopped the clock in 1:52.2.
Coup Station (Atlee Bender) and Winnercircleseeker (Yannick Gingras) rounded out the trifecta.
Hurrikanelouiexiii (Sweet Lou-Hurrikane Empress) also did not receive an inordinate amount of attention by those wagering as he went off at 17-1 for last year’s Trainer of the Year Noel Daley.
The colt, leaving from post position seven in the field of eight, took matters into his own hands right from the beginning as he established fractions of :28, :56.3 and 1:25 prior to wiring his fellow competitors in a new lifetime best of 1:52.3.
Hurrikanelouexii has now improved his record to 4-2-0-1 and has banked $39,800.
The colt was bred by Jonathan Klee Racing and Hurrikane Racing LLC. He is owned by his breeders in conjunction with Justin Bolasci and Big George Stables LLC.
Birthday Wish (Dunn) and Toby Ornot Toby (Tetrick) were second and third, respectively.
Hurrikanelouexii paid $36.14 to win and is a full sibling to Hurrikane Lady Lou ($137,497).
Papi Rick (Papi Rob Hanover-Odds On Pussycat) parlayed an off the pace style to score in 1:52.3 for Daley, his trainer. Favored Caviart Anders (Gingras) came up just short with Captain Apple (Dunn) in third.
Leaving from the rail in the field of seven, Papi Rick was content to sit in fifth as Captain Wonderful (Todd McCarthy) led the way through first half splits of :28.4 and :57.2. Caviart Anders, in third, decided it was time to go at through three-quarters in 1:26.2 with Papi Rick remaining in his position.
As the youngsters turned for home, McCarthy gave Papi Rick his cue and the colt did not disappoint with a :25.3 final panel to spurn Captain Wonderful on the line.
Bred by All In Enterprise and J J Benson Stable Inc., Papi Rick broke his maiden his third career start. He has now earned $21,400 in his three-race career.
Papi Rick is the first foal out of his dam and was a $25,000 investment for Patricia Stable, Sjoblom Racing and L. A. Express LLC., at last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale.
The colt paid $6.64 to win as the second choice.
Favorites rule in Golden Rod and Wildcat Series
Fletchers Field (Geremy Bobbitt) was the only non-favored horse to win his Golden Rod division in 1:52.3. He is trained by Rodney De Beck and owned by his trainer with Randy Donahue. The son of Tall Dark Stranger-Coronet paid $9.94 to win.
Down The Line (Tetrick) took the second division in 1:54.4 for trainer Travis Alexander. The son of Captain Crunch-Bet Online is owned by Fiddler’s Creek Stables. He paid $4.64 to win.
First Colt (Dunn) came home strongly to win the third Golden Rod division in 1:53.3 for Ryder. The son of Lazarus N-West Side Glory is owned by Christina Takter and Nicola Abrams. He paid $3.68 to his backers.
Push Up (A. McCarthy) outlasted a game New Kim In Town (Gingras) to win the sole Wildcat Series division in 1:53.2. The son of Tall Dark Stranger-Wrangler Magic is trained by Tahnee Camilleri. He is owned by Kap Singh Racing Stable and Stephen Klunowski. Push Up paid $4.30 to win.
Racing will continue through Sunday (Oct. 5), following a Sunday through Wednesday schedule. Fans and horsemen can look forward to 5:05 p.m. post times on Sundays, and 1 p.m. post times on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays throughout the meet.
However, please be advised post times for this week Monday (July 28), Tuesday (July 29) and Wednesday (July 30) will be transitioned to 5:05 p.m. due to extreme heat in the Bluegrass state.
The Red Mile will once again feature industry low takeout on the pari-mutuel side of things while offering fans a full buffet of wagering options including bookend daily double wagering exacta and trifecta wagering, 20-cent superfectas, Pick-3, Pick-4, Pick-5 and Pick-6 offerings and the Super Hi-5.
For more information on the upcoming draw schedule, promotional events, the live racing calendar, or free racing program pages, please visit www.redmileracing.com.