Oak Grove, KY — Trainer Andrew Harris brought his star trotting mare Yo Tillie back to her old stomping grounds of Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel for her 4-year-old bow and comfortably found the winner’s circle as the 2-5 favorite in the lone $50,000 dash of Kentucky Sire Stakes (KYSS) for trotting mares on Monday (April 27).
R Dutchess (driven by Tim Tetrick) fired for the lead inside of Yo Tillie (Todd McCarthy) and relinquished controls to the favorite past a :27.1 first quarter. Yo Tillie coasted to a :57.4 half and gradually upped the tempo into the backstretch as Winnpanzee (Yannick Gingras) advanced uncovered out of fourth. Winnpanzee reached for the leader passing three-quarters in 1:25.4 and remained at her throat into the stretch, but Yo Tillie easily staved off the pressure in a sprint to the finish of a 1:53.2 mile for the win by a half length. Voguish (Dexter Dunn) saved ground for third and R Dutchess settled for fourth.
Yo Tillie, a winner in a KYSS series at Oak Grove as a 2-year-old when campaigned by Verlin Yoder, competes for owners William Pollock, Bruce Areman and Andrew Harris. The daughter of Tactical Landing won her 20th race from 25 starts, has now earned $1,309,495 and paid $2.94 to win.
Team Harris also opened the day’s KYSS action with a victory by recent acquisition Unreasonable, who also won in a KYSS series at Oak Grove, but as a 3-year-old. The now 4-year-old daughter of Huntsville ground uncovered on the rim after steep fractions of :26 and :54.1 cut by Duration (David Miller) and into a sprint to three-quarters in 1:21.1 before surging to the front and holding her ground for a 1:49.2 win as the 2-5 favorite. Rose (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) burst free from a pocket trip to finish a fast-closing second with Odds On Chesapeake (Todd McCarthy) rallying from second over for third. Pacesetter Duration tired to fourth.
Unreasonable won her 12th race from 27 starts and added to her bankroll now worth $726,634. She’s owned by William Pollock, Bruce Areman and Andrew Harris and paid $2.86 to win.
Brett Pelling pupil Three Times Bettor (Dexter Dunn) scored in the other KYSS division for 4-year-old pacing mares. Dunn circled his charge to the lead after a :26.2 first quarter and comfortably cut middle fractions of :55.3 and 1:22 in progress to a 1:49.1 victory by 2-1/4 lengths over pocket-chaser Champagne Room (Yannick Gingras). Caviart Delight (Todd McCarthy) followed in third and The Last Martini (Doug McNair) finished best of the rest in fourth.
Three Times Bettor, a daughter of Bettor’s Delight, won her 10th race from 18 starts for owner Thaddeus Wier and has now earned $198,814. She paid $4.38 to win.
Higher Ground (David Miller) foiled a potential Ron Burke sweep of the KYSS events for 4-year-old pacing horses and geldings when downing 6-5 favorite Harrisburg Heist (Yannick Gingras) in the closing strides of a 1:50.3 mile in the first division. After Harrisburg Heist posted splits of :27.1 and :56.1 on the lead, Miller lifted Higher Ground out of fourth and fired forward to press the leader to three-quarters in 1:22.3. Higher Ground persisted against the pacesetter spinning for home and eventually edged past in the closing strides for a half-length win. Harrisburg Heist held second while Fusion (Todd McCarthy) rallied from second over for third and Bourbon County (Doug McNair) gave chase in fourth.
Michael Hitchcock trains Higher Ground, a gelding by Always B Miki, for owners William Hartt and H & H Stable. He won his fifth race from nine starts this season and his ninth race from 31 starts in his career, earning $199,107. He paid $11.12 to win.
Burke trainee Banderas (Yannick Gingras) later delivered with authority in the second KYSS split for 4-year-old pacing males in a 1:50 mile as the 1-5 favorite. Gingras looped the chalk to the point after a :26.2 first quarter cut by Delray Beach (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) and carried his speed to a :54.3 half and 1:22.2 three-quarters. Confronted by first-over Handsome Stranger (Andy McCarthy) moving to the last turn, Gingras gave Banderas the cue to sprint and he promptly peeled away from the competition to register a 3-1/2-length win. Delray Beach held second with Somelousomewhere (Tim Tetrick) rallying from second over for third and Handsome Stranger settled for fourth.
A son of Tall Dark Stranger, Banderas bagged his fourth win from five starts this season and his ninth win from 36 starts in his career, earning $258,634. He’s owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, Frank Canzone, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and Joe Di Scala Jr. and paid $2.28 to win.
Carter Pinske’s speedy son of Greenshoe, Go Dog Go (Todd McCarthy), took top honors of the two KYSS splits for 4-year-old trotting horses and geldings with a game 1:52.4 win in his seasonal debut. McCarthy floated forward and took the lead briefly past a :28 first quarter and soon got looped by longshot Youngblood (Archie Buford) heading past three-eighths, prompting McCarthy to slip off the pylons and retake the lead heading to a :57 half. Once back in front, Go Dog Go strode comfortably to three-quarters in 1:24.2 and to a 2-1/4-length victory in a 1:52.4 mile chased by Gimpanzee Dancer (David Miller), who made a big three-wide brush up the backstretch and settled for second. Royal Comet (Marvin Luna) closed for third and Boots N Beer (Joey Putnam) rallied for fourth.
Go Dog Go, an eight-time winner from 23 starts, has now earned $636,234 for owners Wiesman Farms LLC and Al Libfeld. He paid $3.42 to win.
My Degenerate (Tyler Miller) went down the road from the widest draw in the other KYSS split for 4-year-old trotting horses and geldings to pull a slight upset in 1:53.3. He crossed to the lead after a :27 first quarter and faced little threat through middle sectionals of :56.2 and 1:24.2 before sealing the win by three lengths. Vugoo (David Miller) charged furiously from last to take second while pocket-sitter Onemore Volo (Todd McCarthy) held third and Herecomesdajudge (Andy McCarthy) took fourth.
Julie Miller trains My Degenerate, a gelding by Muscle Hill, for owners Knutsson Trotting Inc., Little E LLC, Lindy Farms of Connecticut and Andy Miller Stable Inc. He won his eighth race from 29 starts, earning $362,006, and paid $14.06 to win.
The Monday card at Oak Grove also featured a pair of $25,000 prep races for the Oak Grove Trotting Oaks, which will have eliminations alongside the inaugural Oak Grove Trotting Derby next Monday (May 4). Anthony MacDonald and Eric Patalan swept the pair of preps with Jailbird Jog (1:54 winning mile, $2.52 to win) and Degas (1:53.4, $27.62) winning. Jailbird Jog, a daughter of Tactical Landing, races for owners Thestable Jailbird Jog, P23 Bloodstock and Hutchison Harness LCC, and Degas competes for owner Thestable Degas Group.
Racing at Oak Grove resumes on Tuesday (April 28) with a 14-race card headlined by a $30,000 Open Handicap Trot, carded as Race 6. First-race post time at Oak Grove is 1:10 p.m. (CDT). For more information, visit oakgrovegaming.com. And for more information on the upcoming Oak Grove Festival of Racing, visit oakgrovederby.com.