Lexington, KY — Wall Of Fame remained resolute under intense homestretch pressure from pocket-popping Gabriela Beatriz S to keep her perfect record intact with a 1:54.3 effort over an off track in the $94,000 second Grade 3 Bluegrass Stakes division – the Norman Woolworth Memorial sponsored by Arden Homestead Stable – for 2-year-old trotting fillies on Friday afternoon (Oct. 2) at The Red Mile.
After landing into second out of post 5 to a :28.3 first quarter, driver Andy Miller looped Wall Of Fame around early leader Gabriela Beatriz S (driven by Yannick Gingras) to take control before a :57.1 half. Wall Of Fame cruised around the last turn as Gabriela Beatriz S swelled following Miller’s helmet, and Gingras tipped his charge outside past three-quarters in 1:26 to lay an attack. Gabriela Beatriz S pushed up to match strides with Wall Of Fame in the stretch but wavered as Miller’s charge dug in to hold her ground. Wall Of Fame repelled Gabriela Beatriz S inside of the final eighth and reached the beam a neck better. Putitondad’stab (Scott Zeron) gave chase from third, beaten another five lengths, with Agano (Mattias Melander) rallying from a second-over trip for fourth.
“I just think her and Andy have a great connection,” trainer Julie Miller said after the race. “She doesn’t do more than she has to, but she knows how to get herself to the winner’s circle. Her biggest thing is she’s easy on herself. She doesn’t get too excited by anything; she lets Andy do what he wants. Versatility is key. This is a great group of fillies. Andy and I over the years have had a lot of nice trotters, [and] she ranks right up there with them. We’re just very blessed to have her and very grateful.
“I think we’re going to take her back to [New] Jersey, a little ‘R and R’ [sic] and maybe target the Goldsmith Maid,” Miller also said. “I’ll talk to Andy and our vet at home and see what we think is best.”
Undefeated in 10 starts, Wall Of Fame has amassed $608,250 for owners Andy Miller Stable, Jean Goehlen, Hutchison Harness LLC and Rick Huffman. The daughter of Walner, out of Donato Hanover mare Saadet, returned $2.24 to win.
Dandelion Wine (Dexter Dunn), escaping the clutches of Wall Of Fame, opened the rainy afternoon with a powerful brush off the bottom corner to snag the lead and win the $94,000 first Bluegrass division for freshman trotting fillies – sponsored by Kountry Lane Standardbreds – in a 1:53 mile.
Dunn planted the Ake Svanstedt pupil into third as 2-5 favorite Heart Of Secret (Yannick Gingras) swooped forward to take the lead approaching a :28.2 first quarter. The field stayed in alignment up the backstretch to a :56.2 half but broke rank around the last turn with Dandelion Wine angling outside and Patty’s Girl (Tim Tetrick) following her cover. Dandelion Wine thrusted by Heart Of Secret after three-quarters in 1:25.3 and cruised to the finish for a 3-3/4-length win chased by Patty’s Girl in second. Heart Of Secret rolled off stride and settled for third while Caught Speeding (Todd McCarthy) faltered from a pocket trip for fourth.
“She has actually been facing Wall Of Fame in every race that she’s been in, so a second behind her is a very good record on the paper,” Sarah Svanstedt of Team Svanstedt said after the race. “She’s big, strong, good looking, so it’s going to be a nice future with her.”
A daughter of Ecurie D DK out of the Southwind Frank mare Plum Wine, Dandelion Wine races for breeder Little E LLC and co-owner Ake Svanstedt Inc. She broke her maiden with the victory in the seventh start of her career, has now earned $112,250 and paid $7.06 to win.
Beauts Cabaret (Scott Zeron) stole tepid fractions and had plenty in store for flanking challenges late to clinch a 1:55.2 victory in the $94,000 third Bluegrass division, sponsored by the International Moni Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms.
Zeron slid out of post 7 to the lead in a :29.2 first quarter and remained alone on the front to a :58.3 half, at which point Blue Ranger (Orjan Kihlstrom) angled out of third to march up the rim towards the leader. Beauts Cabaret continued under minimal pressure past three-quarters in 1:27.2 and came under fire in the stretch from 3-2 favorite Rio De Janeiro (Joe Bongiorno) nudging through an inside seam and Blue Ranger continually building momentum to the outside. Zeron kept his charge to task under late duress to seal a neck victory over Rio De Janeiro with Blue Ranger settling for third and A Tale Of Kemp (Todd McCarthy) giving chase in fourth.
“I bought the mare with the foal at her side,” winning co-owner Steve Palermo said after the race, “and right away I wanted to name it after [trainer] Steve Bossence’s daughter. He used to call her ‘Beaut’, so we just called her Beauts Cabaret and its been pretty lucky for us so far. She’s got a lot of good brothers – I bought her probably as a broodmare prospect for down the line, but now she’s making the money on her own right.”
Winning her fourth race from seven starts and her second graded stake in her career, Beauts Cabaret has earned $100,338 for owners Steve Palermo, Jeffery Ruch and Stephen Bossence. The daughter of International Moni, out of Muscle Hill mare Southwind Cabaret, paid $16.26 to win.
Orinoco (Yannick Gingras) made a mid-race move for the top and then denied an uncovered bid from odds-on favorite Birr Castle (Scott Zeron) to win the $95,000 final Bluegrass split for freshman trotting fillies, the Wayne Giles Memorial sponsored by R. A. W. Equine, in a 1:54.3 mile.
Gingras settled Orinoco into third while longshot Just Dior Her (Andy Miller) crossed to the lead through a :28 first quarter. Pocket-sitter Mine Mine Mine (Mattias Melander) then broke stride into the backstretch, and Gingras soon pulled off the cones to circle Orinoco to the lead heading to a :57 half. Birr Castle, racing in third, tipped outside and reached for the leader through three-quarters in 1:26.4, but evened in her bid into the final eighth. Orinoco strode comfortably for a half-length win over Birr Castle with Two Day Hangover (Dexter Dunn) closing for third and Two To The North (Todd McCarthy) giving chase from a second-over trip for fourth.
“She’s a real nice filly; all of her races she’s done very well,” said Bernie Noren, a member of the winning ownership with Knutsson Trotting Inc. “When we get the top, she’s a tough filly to pass. We’ll go for the Breeders Crown next at Scioto Downs, so hopefully we can be good there. She’s good on a five-eighths track.”
Knutsson Trotting Inc. co-owns Orinoco, a Captain Corey filly out of Andover Hall mare Bonnie Lou, with Ake Svanstedt Inc. The Svanstedt trainee collected her third win from seven starts, has earned $197,945 and paid $9.20 to win.
Live harness racing at The Red Mile resumes on Saturday (Oct. 3) with a 13-race card headlined by the 134th edition of the $575,000 Grade 1 Kentucky Futurity, carded as the last race of the day and scheduled to broadcast nationally on Fox Sports 2. The Saturday card, co-headlined by the $300,000 Grade 1 Kentucky Filly Futurity and a pair of Bluegrass dashes for pacing sophomores of both sexes, will also feature three guaranteed wagers with a $7,500 guaranteed Pick 5 starting in Race 3, a $5,000 guaranteed Pick 4 starting in Race 6 and a $10,000 guaranteed Pick 4 starting in Race 10. Both the Pick 5 and the Pick 4 at The Red Mile are offered at an industry low takeout of 12 percent.
First-race post time is 1 p.m. For more information on the 2026 live harness racing season, visit The Red Mile website: https://www.redmileracing.com.