Lexington, KY – Faze flung forward off a pocket trip through a seam at the pylons to deliver a 15-1 upset with a 1:49 effort in the first of two divisions for the $171,000 Papi Rob Hanover Bluegrass 3-Year-Old Filly Pace, sponsored by the Papi Rob Hanover Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms, on Saturday (Sept. 27) at The Red Mile.
Driver Tim Tetrick fired Faze out of post 8 inside of Westwinds (driven by Todd McCarthy) and crossed to the pylons entering the first turn. Faze yielded control to Westwinds nearing a :26.4 first quarter and followed snugly up the backstretch as Westwinds glided on the helm to a :54.3 half.
Rose (Yannick Gingras) pulled outside from third to press Westwinds for the lead heading to three-quarters in 1:22.2 and the pair matched strides in the turn for home. Rose forged to the lead in mid-stretch while Westwinds retreated and Faze found clearance inside the pair for a late attack. Tetrick hustled Faze up the inside and darted by Rose to win by three-quarter lengths. Caviart Delight (Scott Zeron) closed from third over for third and Baret (Andy McCarthy) came from second over for fourth.
Brett Pelling trains Faze, a Sweet Lou-Darlinonthebeach filly, for owners Diamond Creek Racing, Farhi Standardbreds Corp. and Spreydon Racing. The filly won her first race of 2025 while collecting her fifth win from 14 starts in her career, accruing $188,782 in earnings. She paid $32.20 to win.
Champagne Room (Andy McCarthy) later produced a similar stretch spurt through an inside seam to nab a 1:49.1 victory in the second division of the Papi Rob Hanover Bluegrass Stakes.
McCarthy raced seventh with Champagne Room as Always Ana Hanover (Doug McNair) blasted out of post 9 to torch a :26.3 first quarter. Unreasonable (Scott Zeron), the 2-1 favorite, edged out of fourth and rushed forward through a :54.4 half to grab the lead from Always Ana Hanover entering the final turn. Zeron kept his charge rolling through three-quarters in 1:21.4 and staved off most of her challengers while drifting off the pylons in the stretch. Champagne Room meanwhile hugged the cones and punched past from a ground-saving trip to snag victory from Unreasonable by a half length. Found (Todd McCarthy) gave chase from a stalking trip for third and Three Times Bettor (Bradley Chisholm) closed from near last for fourth.
“That’s Andy’s plan, to go left with her,” trainer Noel Daley said after the race. “He got to win by going left; he said she just swells up when he just goes left. Last start in the final, he wasn’t able to go left and had to be first over. When I watched him going left there today I said to Harvey [Fried of Patricia Stable] ‘We’re going to be alright here. We get to go left.’ We gave a stupid amount of money for her. She’s from a great family – I’ve never given that sort of money for one before – but it looks like now we’re going to get [it] out of her.”
A daughter of Papi Rob Hanover out of pacing sensation See You At Peelers, who rolled a 22-race win streak at the start of her career, Champagne Room races for owners Patricia Stable, LA Express & Sjoblom Inc. and Michael Dolan. The filly won her fourth race from nine starts this season and her fifth race from 19 starts in her career, earning $238,844. She paid $6.96 to win.