Lexington, KY – On Wednesday (Aug. 6), Endurance will seek to claim his fourth consecutive race in the sole $80,000 second-round division of the Kentucky Championship Series at The Red Mile.
The 14-race card will also provide three $30,000 second-round legs of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series, three $15,000 second-round divisions of the Golden Rod Series and two $10,000 second-round contests of Kentucky Wildcat Series. All events are for freshman male trotters.
Endurance holds a strong hand in Kentucky Championship Series
The Christopher Beaver-trained Endurance (Andrew McCarthy) is 2-1 on the morning line in a field of nine youngsters. The son of Captain Corey-Love Session was the winner of the $100,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes Final for his age, sex and gait at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming and Hotel on July 14.
The colt set his lifetime mark of 1:52.3 in the first round of this series on July 28 over this oval and was nearly a full second swifter than second-place finisher It Could Be Worse (Scott Zeron), who is also in this field. That rival is 9-2 on the morning line and leaves from post six for trainer Linda Toscano.
Silverstein (David Miller) also will provide some serious opposition despite leaving from post position nine. The son of Chapter Seven-Shining Brightly broke his maiden in 1:53.2 in a division of this series on July 28.
He is trained by Matthew Burkholder and is 7-2 on the morning line.
Back to the favorite, however, Endurance is the third foal out his dam. By Muscle Massive, Love Session earned $28,643 on the racetrack. The mare is out of Ens Tag Session (Tagliabue, $94,668). Love Session is a half-sister to Triumphant Caviar (SJ’s Caviar, $796,794), Prayer Session (Like A Prayer, $775,605), Theatrical Session (Broadway Hall, $192,620) and Centurion ATM (SJ’s Caviar, $728,894).
Endurance was a $14,000 Standardbred Horse Sale purchase for his trainer, Bill Manes, Leo Fleming and Mark Moger. The colt was bred by Steve Stewart and Martti Ala-Seppala.
Zephyr Kemp, Nofreak Volo, San Patricio lead the way in Commonwealth Series
Zephyr Kemp (Dexter Dunn) was fifth behind Endurance last out, but the son of Calgary Games-Southwind Adele may simply need some time to place his best hoof forward in the first of three divisions of this series.
Trained by Marcus Melander, the colt is 2-1 on the morning line and will commence trotting from post position seven in the field of seven in race one.
Zephyr Kemp has one victory in four attempts but is descended from a quality female line. He is a half-sibling to She Rocks Kemp (Kadabra, $195,965), Velociraptor (Father Patrick, $120,458) and Yannick G Kemp (Walner, $214,889).
Bred by Kemppi Stables Oy Inc. and Suojalampi Stable Inc., Zephyr Kemp was selected for $80,000 at last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale by his breeders, PCW Racing LLC. and Sjoblom Racing Inc.
Nofreak Volo (Tim Tetrick) is 2-1 on the morning line in the second division, which is carded as the sixth race. Trained by John Butenschoen, the son of Father Patrick-No I’m Not broke his maiden in his third trip to the post by a neck in 1:54.3 as the favorite in this company and over this surface last week.
Bred by Kentuckiana Farms and Jorgen Jahre Jr., the gelding is a half sibling to Cartier Volo (Cash Hall, $278,797), Nixie Volo (Yankee Glide, $326,206), Cando Volo (Cantab Hall, $223,279) and Stella Volo (Six Pack, $151,812).
Nofreak Volo went through the ring for $20,000 at last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale to owners Harmony Oaks Racing Stable, In Over My Head Stable, VIP Internet Stable and Kentuckiana Racing Stable.
The third division features San Patricio for the team of Tetrick and Butenschoen. The son of Swan For All-Kaikoura is 2-1 on the morning line and will leave from post three in the field of eight.
Bred by Tony Holmes and Walter Zent, San Patricio was fourth in last week’s Kentucky Championship Series leg as well as third in the $100,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes Final at Oak Grove on July 14.
San Patricio is the first foal out of an unraced Cantab Hall mare. His granddam, Wind Stroll (Muscle Mass, $86,320) foaled Windy Corner (Yankee Glide, $207,576), Evening Stroll (Cantab Hall, $147,467) and Fast As The Wind (Cantab Hall, $833,274).
The gelding is owned by his breeder Holmes, Michael Holmes, June Zent and Timothy Thornton.
Golden Rod and Wildcat Series comprise five races on the card
The Golden Rod Series consists of three events and will be races two, three and eight, while the Wildcat Series will go off as races four and seven.
Racing will continue through Sunday (Oct. 5), following a Sunday through Wednesday schedule. Fans and horsemen can look forward to 5:05 p.m. (EDT) post times on Sundays, and 1 p.m. post times on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays throughout the meet. Please be advised post times on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are subject to change due to the fluctuations in extreme heat across the nation.
For more information on the upcoming draw schedule, promotional events, the live racing calendar, or free racing program pages, please visit www.redmileracing.com.