Lexington, KY – On another beautiful evening for Sunday Night Lights sponsored by Crawford Farms, Topville Lucky secured the victory in a lifetime best 1:50.2 in the $80,000 fourth round leg of the Kentucky Championship Series at The Red Mile for freshman pacing fillies.
The 12-race card included two $30,000 fourth round divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series, three $15,000 fourth round legs of the Kentucky Golden Rod Series and two $10,000 fourth round divisions of the Kentucky Wildcat Series for 2-year-old female pacers.
Topville Lucky comes out on top in Championship Series
Atlee Bender made the most of his inside draw to guide second choice Topville Lucky home in front of favored Gala (Todd McCarthy) in the field of eight after the scratch of Beautiful Memory. Caviart Daisy (Andrew McCarthy) closed for third but was nearly a full second behind the top pair.
Leaving from post position one, Topville Lucky allowed 72-1 shot She’s A Rich Girl (David Miller) to cut out the first split of :28.1. Dexter Dunn, however, decided Seaside Shuffle needed to be involved in the early action and steered his filly to the half in :56.2.
But Bender decided it was time to move from second position and placed Topville Lucky on the lead through three quarters in 1:24.2. It was a lead she would not relinquish despite the concerted effort of Gala, who had the outermost post, to record her third win in four starts. The top two fillies came home in :26.
A daughter of Sweet Lou and Warrawee Winx, Topville Lucky is trained by Erv Miller. The only blemish on her record is when she broke stride in the second leg of this series after breaking her maiden in the first leg of the Commonwealth Series.
The filly was bred by Jeremy Yoder and went through the ring at last year’s Standardbred Horse Sale for $27,000 to her trainer Douglas Overhiser, Michael Ternisky and Scott Leaf.
Topville Lucky has now amassed $95,000 from four starts. She paid $7.24 to win to her supporters.
Hope Hill wins make it three in a row, Tan Lines Hanover breaks her maiden in Commonwealth Series
Hope Hill (Dexter Dunn) avenged the only defeat of her young career by defeating Need You Now (Patrick Ryder) with a new speed badge of 1:51.2. Eternal Blush (Yannick Gingras) was up for the show spot.
The daughter of Papi Rob Hanover-Ruth Hill is under the care of Virgil Morgan Jr.
Competing as a homebred for Tom Hill, Hope Hill improved to 5-4-0-1 with a bank account of $54,600.
Sent off as the favorite, Hope Hill provided those her wagered on her to win with $3.44.
Scott Zeron and Tan Lines Hanover outdueled Nash (T. McCarthy) to visit the winner’s circle for the first time in her career for trainer Nancy Takter. Favorite Bettor Be A Star (Patrick Ryder) was third.
The daughter of Downbytheseaside-The Art Museum hit the line a head in front in 1:52.3. The filly has been chasing Topville Lucky and Hope Hill in her three previous appearances in this series after breaking in her debut in July.
Bred by Hanover Shoe Farms, Tan Lines Hanover is a half-sister to Dan Patch and O’Brien Award winner Artspeak (Western Ideal, $1.62 million) in addition to three other immediate family members to earn more than $100,000.
The filly was selected for $32,000 at last year’s Standardbred Horse Sale by her trainer, Christina Takter and Black Horse Racing.
Tan Lines Hanover possesses a resume of 5-1-0-2 and has collected $22,200 in her brief racing career.
She paid $7.04 to win as the public’s second choice.
Gingras takes two of three Golden Rod divisions, Miller sweeps Wildcat Series
Favored Seaside Charm provided Gingras with his first Golden Rod win in 1:51 for Burke paying $2.80 for that mile.
Dunn and Joe Holloway were the team behind second choice She Stings in the second division as the filly won by a neck in 1:51.4.
Burke and Gingras combined forces again in the third division with third choice Lets Justin Turtle in 1:51.4.
Favored Atte Station was D. Miller’s first divisional Wildcat winner in 1:53.2 with third choice Easy Station pacing to the finish line first in the second contest in 1:52.4.
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.
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.