Lexington, KY – Sweet Lou colt Gobstopper, who currently holds the national season’s mark for pacing freshmen from a 1:50.1 victory in his most recent start at The Meadowlands, brushed to the top heading to the last turn and held command firmly to the finish of a 1:53.1 mile in the $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series opening preliminary for 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings, which was contested on a non-betting card Monday morning (Aug. 3) at The Red Mile.
Leaving from the pylon post, driver Tim Tetrick lifted Gobstopper from the cones after a :29.1 first quarter to attack leader Midwind Buxton (driven by Yannick Gingras) to a :58 half. Gobstopper cleared control and accelerated towards three-quarters in 1:25.1 to wrap the mile in-hand to win by two lengths. Midwind Buxton gave chase in second with Hold Fast (Atlee Bender) storming home for third and Wishawave (Scott Zeron) taking fourth.
Tony Dinges trains Gobstopper, a colt out of the Western Hanover mare Captiva Island, for owner Rick Berks. The colt, costing $75,000 as a yearling at the 2025 Lexington Selected Sale, won his third race from four starts and has now earned $66,520 in his career.
The undercard of the non-wagering program on Monday also featured three $30,000 opening preliminaries of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series. Blue Eyed Stranger (Yannick Gingras) and Debonaire (Dexter Dunn) tied for top honors with 1:53.1 miles from their respective Kentucky Commonwealth divisions. Gingras pounced from a pocket trip to win by a length on Ron Burke pupil Blue Eyed Stranger, holding off second-over pursuer Huntmaster (Todd McCarthy) by a length, while Dunn ripped from off the speed with Tony Alagna trainee Debonaire to collar late leader Crazygirlsburnsage (Josert Fonseca) for a nose victory. Just Perfect Stuff (Joey Putnam, 1:54.1 winning mile) went pillar to post to take the other Commonwealth division, staving off first-up challenger Dog Dare You (Dexter Dunn) by a nose, for trainer Joe Putnam.
A trio of $15,000 Kentucky Golden Rod preliminaries were also contested on the non-betting card. Rumble And Sway (Scott Zeron, 1:55.1), A Bettor Dream (Andy McCarthy, 1:55) and Rowdy Station (Dexter Dunn, 1:53.1) all reached the winner’s circle from their respective divisions, with Rowdy Station tying the fastest mile paced on the morning. And Night Agent (Dexter Dunn, 1:53.4), a Captaintreacherous colt out of world champion mare Shebestingin, posted the quickest mile of the three $10,000 Kentucky Wildcat divisions when pulling away from a front-stepping effort for a 4-3/4-length win.
Live harness racing at The Red Mile continues on Monday (Aug. 3) with a 15-race card headlined by an $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series preliminary for 2-year-old trotting colts and geldings, carded as Race 11.