by Nick Salvi for the Red Mile

Conditions could have been better Thursday afternoon at The Red Mile, but several freshmen excelled despite the ominous skies. With the racetrack going from sloppy to slow over the course of the day, form was hard to follow as virtually all of the winners came from off the pace.

That fact made the performance of Peter Haughton winner Donato Hanover all the more impressive. One of the stars of Andover Hall’s first crop to race, Donato was forced into a three move race, leaving for position, moving to the front past the quarter only to relinquish the lead again and then rallying to draw off in the stretch. His time of 1:57.4 with a 28.1 kicker was very impressive under the circumstances. Ron Pierce steered the winner for trainer Steve Elliott and owners David Scharf, the Golden Touch Stable and Steve Arnold.

Operation Lindy (Enjoy Lavec) started the card with an $89 bang when he won the first of five $83,000 divisions of the Bluegrass two-year-old colt trot. Seldom do you get a price like that on a John Campbell driven horse, but the presence of Mythical Lindy, the 1-5 favorite who tired to sixth after setting the fractions, left all others at a long price. Campbell came first over with the winner, trained by De Wayne Minor for Cowboyland Aalborg, and held off Creditable Winner in a photo, taking a 1:58.3 record in the process.

Division two saw another surprise, and the first of two Trond Smedshammer trained and driven winners in the stake. Primary AS (Malabar Man) made his very first start a stakes win for owner Kittleson Racing, flying home from well back to win in 1:59.4. With place finisher Great Success another heavy favorite that fell victim to the bias, Primary AS returned a $90 mutuel to his small legion of supporters.

Standpoint (Andover Hall) gave Trond back to back upsets when he tracked down favored Jimmy Shin to score a 1:59.4 victory at odds of 11-1. Standpoint, owned by Gewertz, Sampson Street, Goldstein and Trond’s American Viking Stable followed up second over and stormed by to win moving away. Jimmy Shin held for a gritty second.

Ron Pierce picked up a Bluegrass double by scoring with outsider Sand Amory (Conway Hall) for owner Bill Sanders and trainer Tye Loy in 2:00.4 from a third over trip to go along with Donato Hanover’s win earlier.

Nigel Soult photo

Little Miss Dragon (6) defeated Cabana Fever in one of four $100,000 divisions of the Bluegrass for two-year-old pacing fillies in 1:54.2.

Four $100,000 divisions of Bluegrass two-year-old pacing fillies were on the bill as well and Little Miss Dragon (Dragon Again) won the marquee match-up in that stake. Handled by Campbell, she rode up behind the cover of Trim Hanover until the stretch where she fanned into the middle of the track to nail Cabana Fever in the last jump in 1:54.2. Noel Daley trains the winner for Adam Victor & Son.

Yankee Augusta (Western Hanover) blazed by her competition in the day’s second race for Dave Miller in a personal record of 1:52.3. Dan Creighton owns and trains the winner.

Trinity Island gave Steve Elliott a win in both the trotting and pacing stakes when she sprinted home for Brian Sears to nip favored Western Montana in 1:54.1. Cuzzins Stable, of Burning Point fame, own the Jenna’s Beach Boy distaffer.

Sears doubled up in the pace with Al’s Girl (Artsplace) for trainer Jerry Silverman and owner Jeff Snyder. Another deep closer, she sat well back and ground into position behind a few rival before Brian angled her out and gave her the go sign to win in 1:53.4.

Tomorrow at The Red Mile we get in to the three-year-olds with both pacing and trotting fillies competing in more of the lucrative Bluegrass Stakes. It all begins at 12:30 PM.