Lexington, KY — Marcus Melander trainee American Power, who finished fourth behind stablemate Apex in the Grade 1 Hambletonian last month, eyes back-to-back victories in the Kentucky Championship Series for trotting glamour boys when he starts as the 9-5 favorite against 11 other rivals in the $80,000 co-headline event carded as Race 5 on Sunday night (Sept. 13) at the Red Mile.
The Walner colt out of Hall of Famer Ariana G, powered off a covered trip in the third preliminary on Aug. 31 to win going away by 1-1/2 lengths in a 1:50.4 mile. Dexter Dunn stays in the bike in the field that includes stablemates Zephyr Kemp (driven by Todd McCarthy, post 3, 8-1 morning line) and Spencer Hanover (Jason Bartlett, post 11, 8-1) along with this series’ first leg winner Requiem (Andy McCarthy, post 1, 8-1) and second leg winner Captain Naughty (Yannick Gingras, post 7, 9-2) plus Inexpressable (Scott Zeron, post 12, 5-2), the Yonkers Trot champion who enters from a 1:51.1 neck victory in the Grade 2 Earl Beal Jr. Memorial at Pocono Downs on Aug. 22.
Sophomore pacing fillies spar in the following race with Miss Jum Jabber (Andy McCarthy, post 2, 6-5) returning to Kentucky following a 1:49.2 first-up victory in the $300,000 Pennsylvania Sires Stakes final on Sept. 6 at Harrah’s Philadelphia. A winner in the first and third legs of this series, Miss Jum Jabber looks to retain the throne in the seven-horse contest that also attracts second leg winner Bahama Momma (Joe Bongiorno, post 1, 5-2) and Topville Lucky (Todd McCarthy, post 6, 8-1), the winner of last year’s Kentucky Championship Series final for 2-year-old pacing fillies.
Pacing 4-year-olds highlight the 13-race card on Monday (Sept. 14) with the final leg of their Kentucky Sire Stakes series. Three Times Bettor (Dexter Dunn, post 3, 2-1) seeks revenge from a defeat to Odds On Chesapeake (Scott Zeron, post 2, 9-2) in the division for pacing mares, which also lures Unreasonable (Todd McCarthy, post 4, 6-5) from the Grand Circuit off a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Milton Stakes on Sept. 5 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Captain Arturovico (Dexter Dunn, post 1, 4-5) eyes a setup for a series sweep later on the card in the division for pacing males.
Trotting 4-year-olds take center stage to close the race week on Tuesday (Sept. 15) with the last preliminary of their Kentucky Sire Stakes series. The mares compete in a non-wagering race before the pari-mutuel card with Carter Pinske sending three in Grand Reserve (Andy McCarthy, post 4), who won the first leg of the series, along with 2024 Kentucky Championship Series 2-year-old champ Aperfect Annie (Marvin Luna, post 1) and Best Friends Girl (Todd McCarthy, post 2).
In the male division, Monserrate (Dexter Dunn, post 3, 5-2) earns morning-line favoritism off a third-place finish in an Open Trot at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Maple Leaf Trot night. He meets five other foes including Oak Grove track-record holder Whiskey Wow (Todd McCarthy, post 5, 7-2) and Big Shoes (Scott Zeron, post 1, 9-2), who looks to improve from a pair of third-place finishes in the last two legs of the series.
Sunday’s undercard features $30,000 divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series, $15,000 divisions of the Kentucky Golden Rod Series and $10,000 divisions of the Kentucky Wildcat Series while Monday’s and Tuesday’s program features just divisions for the Kentucky Wildcat series on the undercard. First-race post time on Sunday is 5:05 p.m. (EDT) and 1 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday.