Lexington, KY — On Tuesday (Aug. 26), Brandon Blvd will line up against six freshman male pacers in the $80,000 fourth leg of the Kentucky Championship Series at the Red Mile with perfection in balance for his young career. The 14-race card shines the spotlight on 2-year-old male pacers with two $30,000 divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series, three $15,000 divisions of the Kentucky Golden Rod Series, and two $10,000 divisions of the Kentucky Wildcat Series.
Brandon Blvd vies for a clean sweep in the Championship Series
Tim Tetrick will once again be in the bike as Brandon Blvd faces the starter for the fifth time in his career for trainer/co-owner Andrew Harris. The son of Downbytheseaside-Alexis Faith is 6-5 on the morning line and will start from post position five.
The regally-bred colt has been the epitome of class. He won on the front end in his career debut at Harrah’s Philadelphia last month and scored by a neck at odds of 17-1 in his first trip to Lexington. In his second journey over the red clay, Brandon Blvd paced more than a full second swifter than his closest rival and stopped the clock in a lifetime best 1:49.3.
In his last engagement, the colt was closer to pace and held off a :25.4 final closing quarter from Ubrute (Yannick Gingras) to grace the winner’s circle.
Bred by Crawford Farms, Brandon Blvd is the second foal out of the excellent race mare Alexis Faith (American Ideal, $586,546). Known as Wayne Harvey prior to his purchase for $425,000 at last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, the colt now belongs to his trainer, William Pollock and Bruce Areman.
Brandon Blvd hails from one of the best families in the sport. His dam is a half-sister to 2021 Horse of the Year Test Of Faith, and her first foal, Karma (Tall Dark Stranger), has banked $136,365.
The colt has earned $125,500 in purse money and his speed badge is nearly three seconds faster than the horses he will be facing.
The Ron Burke-trained Ubrute, mentioned previously, is 2-1 on the morning line with Gingras at the controls from post position four.
The son of Tall Dark Stranger-Warrawee Ubeaut also possesses his own flashy pedigree as his dam shares a 1:48.3 world record with Looksgoodinloulou, which she established in 2018 for the same connections over this very surface.
Bred by Burke Racing Stable, Crawford Farms Racing, J&T Silva-Purnel & Libby, and Phillip Collura, Ubrute’s ownership group consists of those four entities minus Crawford Farms Racing while inserting Hatfield Stables.
The colt has yet to break his maiden from three starts but has improved in each trip.
Ubrute has collected $29,600 in purses.
Burke duo favored in Commonwealth Series
After two consecutive wins in the Golden Rod Series, Burke decided to drop Thiago Hanover (Gingras) in the box for a little more cash. The son of Tall Dark Stranger-Trillions Hanover is 2-1 on the morning line and is assigned post position six in the field of seven.
Bred by Hanover Shoe Farms, the colt is the first foal out of Trillions Hanover (Somebeachsomewhere, $344,741) and was selected for acquisition by Burke Racing Stable, Larry Karr, Knox Services Inc. and Beasty LLC for $115,000 at last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale.
Thiago Hanover has a record of 6-2-1-2 and has earned $31,600.
Winnercircleseeker (Gingras) also resides in Burke’s shed row. The son of Sweet Lou-Don’t Forget broke his maiden in his third career start two weeks ago in this company before coming home second behind Toby Ornot Toby last week.
The colt is 2-1 on the morning line in the second division of this series and drew post position five in the field of seven.
Winnercircleseeker is the third foal out of his dam and a half-sibling to Hopeyaliketheshow (JK Endofanera, $143,187). He was bred by Randy Wilt, Tyler Wilt and Zane Wilt.
Burke Racing Stable, Larry Karr, Phillip Collura and Bradley Grant procured him from last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale for $190,000.
Winnercircleseeker’s resume is 4-1-2-1 and $28,850 is in his bank account.
Racing will continue through Sunday (Oct. 5), following a Sunday-through-Wednesday schedule. Fans and horsepeople can look forward to 5:05 p.m. post times on Sundays, and 1 p.m. post times on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout the meet. For more information on the upcoming draw schedule, promotional events, the live racing calendar, or free racing program pages, visit www.redmileracing.com.