Lexington, KY — Dancinginthedark M looped to the top through slow fractions and accelerated under minimal encouragement to a 1:52.2 victory in the first division of the $316,300 Muscle Hill Bluegrass 2-year-old colt and gelding trot — sponsored by Southwind Farms — on Friday (Oct. 2) at The Red Mile.

Cuatro De Julio cleared control to the first turn with Magical Muscle Man securing the pocket and Dacinginthedark M floating into third. By the first quarter in :28.3, Cuatro De Julio kept the tempo tepid heading to a :57.1 half, prompting driver Tim Tetrick to slide Dancinginthedark M off the pylons and towards the lead.

Dancinginthedark M cruised around the final turn to three-quarters in 1:25.2 as Cuatro De Julio readied to pull the pocket for the stretch drive. However Cuatro De Julio stalled through the stretch as Dancinginthedark M strode to the finish in hand. Southwind Tyrion ripped down the center of the course to take third with 8-5 favorite Arnold N Dicky settling for fourth.

“He’s always had tons of ability,” Tetrick said after the race. “His mind will once in awhile take over his gait and he kind of overtries to trot himself and he’ll make a mistake. But today we sent him in pretty good, but he was starting to get aggressive and we had to make a move. We’ve been trying to teach him to race the right way. I was just trying to let him have a good day over this beautiful dirt and hopefully he likes it, and next time he’ll come back and remember that and be happier for it.”

Bred and owned by Menhammar Stuteri Ab, Dancinginthedark M collected his third win from six starts, earning $91,961. Marcus Melander trains the Readly Express-Leila colt who paid $7.80 to win.

With 3-5 favorite In Range out of contention through slow fractions, Take All Comers ranged first over to nail Fly Light at the finish of a 1:52.3 mile in the second division of the Muscle Hill.

Johan Palema powered to the front with stablemate Fly Light settling into a loose pocket. Take All Comers sat third to a :28 first quarter with Moonstone S racing fourth and the favorite In Range fifth.

Lined single file to a :56.3 half, Johan Palema continued unchallenged to the far turn as Take All Comers edged first over with Moonstone S and In Range in tow to three-quarters. Johan Palema clipped three-quarters in 1:25 but shortened stride in the stretch.

Fly Light lunged from the pocket to contest for the lead while Take All Comers continued to press for the lead to the outside. The pair sprinted to the finish but Take All Comers put a head in front and kept Fly Light at bay to break his maiden in his seventh start. Moonstone S finished third while his stablemate, In Range, finished sixth.

“My theory is, especially with trotters… if they’re messing up because they’ve got other things on their mind, you’re better off gelding them if you want them to win here in Kentucky and in October,” trainer Jim Campbell said after the race of the freshly-gelded son of Creatine-Nantab. “And this colt… he was like that. He wasn’t a mean horse, but he was a big horse and just had other things on his mind and as soon as we gelded him it just turned a corner for him.

“He’s been a colt — like Dave Miller said before he got on him — he said ‘I’m looking forward to racing him today.’ Dave only drove him one time (at The Meadows). He’s a horse that’s big but has speed, and I think the five-eighths tracks just kind of hindered him a little bit. We got a chance to see what he can do on a big track today.”

Earning $121,982 for owner Runthetable Stables, who bred the gelding with Chelsea Batelli, Take All Comers paid $40.80 to win.

Delayed Hanover took command, yielded for the pocket, then retook command to maintain a firm lead through the stretch and finish of a 1:53.4 mile in the final Muscle Hill division.

Sweeping to the lead from post three, Delayed Hanover let Jack Fire clear the top past a :28.1 opening quarter. Sonofamistery raced third into the backstretch and started to pull off the pylons, but lost stride in tight quarters as Delayed Hanover vacated the pocket and circled to the lead.

From there, trainer-driver Ake Svanstedt controlled the tempo to a :57.2 half and three-quarters in 1:27.1 before speeding the Southwind Frank-Don’t Wait Up colt to the finish to cap the mile with a :26.3 final quarter. Jack Fire held second while Locatelli took third and Swingforthefences finished fourth.

“He trained as good as the best horses the whole spring,” Svanstedt said after the race. “I expect a lot out of this horse. Southwind Frank can be a good stud. He had a good pedigree and was a very good horse. This horse is a good-looking horse also.”

Owned by Mellby Gard Inc. and Ake Svanstedt Inc., Delayed Hanover won his first race from three starts, earning $60,800. The Hanover Shoe Farms-bred colt, who began his career late due to sustaining an injury in the paddock earlier this year, paid $5.20 to win.

Grand Circuit competition resumes at The Red Mile on Saturday (Oct. 3) with three divisions of the $359,300 Stay Hungry Bluegrass 2-year-old colt and gelding pace — presented by the Stay Hungry Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms — and four divisions of the $349,000 Norman Woolworth Bluegrass 2-year-old filly trot — presented by Arden Homestead Stable, ET Gerry & Peter Gerry, Maragareta Wallenius-Kleberg, Stoner Manor Inc., Menhammar Stuteri Ab, Jorgen Jahre Jr., LST Stables and Lawrence DeVan. Racing gets underway for the 13-race card at 1 p.m. (EDT).