by Nick Salvi for the Red Mile

As The Red Mile Grand Circuit meet approaches, the quality of the race cards is showing marked improvement. Sunday night will feature five stakes among the twelve races on the program, led by the $234,500 Moni Maker for three-year-old trotting fillies. Despite its short history (this is just the second edition of the stake) the Moni Maker has become an instant classic. Last year’s race, won by Coulantine, featured the cream of the division’s crop and that is again the case in 2006.

Brittany Farm’s undefeated division leader Passionate Glide won her elimination last Sunday over a tiring surface, holding off the late bid of Queen Serene by only a head. It is well documented that Passionate Glide has been compromised by what is described as a tender hamstring over the past couple of months; nevertheless she got by on her considerable class and character to win the Hambletonian Oaks. Her connections, trainer Jimmy Takter and driver Ron Pierce are well versed in what it takes to win the big one. It appears if they can get her to the post, she’ll take it from there.

Trainer Trond Smedshammer sends out a pair for the Moni Maker final. Elimination winner Four Starz Lindy, owned by the Four Starzzzz Stable, appears to be finding herself as fall approaches. Timo Yli Panula’s Queen Serene is clearly as fast as she needs to be, but her ambition cost her a shot at the Oaks when she went off stride in close quarters in her elimination. Trond gave her a short freshening in between and she seemed content to sit mid-pack last week and closed with a 27.4 final quarter to just miss.

A field of ten will go to post in the Moni Maker, race nine on the card.

Supporting the feature will be one division of the John Simpson Memorial for three-year-old filly pacers for a purse of $61,100 and three splits of the Simpson freshman colt trot. Mistletoe Shalee and PASS final winner Armbro Dancer will be the filly pace favorite for owner Louie Camara and the Takter/Pierce team. She’s made over $350,000 with seven wins in ten tries on the season. Grandiose Gal and Designer Gal have been competing in state-bred events here in Lexington over the past month and are geared to lead the competition in the field of eleven.

The Simpson colt trots are all ten horse fields and feature several colts that have been developing nicely in the mid-west. Trainer Ron Gurfein, a 2006 Hall of Fame inductee, is no stranger to success, Great Success that is. This aptly named son of Gurfein’s Hambletonian winner Self Possessed came from obscurity to win both the Review & Hayes stakes on the western Grand Circuit swing, taking a 1:56.1 record in the process. Gurfein owns the promising youngster in partnership with his long time patrons Jerry & Rosalie Silva. He’ll face Kabir, a good-looking son of exciting first crop sire Andover Hall among the nine trophy seekers.

Another Andover Hall colt is the early choice in Simpson division two. Don’t Blink Twice is a well-traveled youngster who has won both of his local starts and a division of the Geers at Tioga. Trained by Takter and driven by David Miller for the Don’t Blink Twice Partnership he’ll find resistance from another Gurfein colt in Creditable Winner and Boston Harbor, a multiple NYSS winner from the Czernyson barn.

The contenders in division three will not stray from the above formula as Gurfein sends out the particularly handsome Self Possessed colt Jimmy Shin to square off against Takter’s Peyton Way. Jimmy Shin, winner of the Horseman stake at Indianapolis, made the trip to Ontario for the Wellwood eliminations but was parked the mile and got a little tired.

These Simpson divisions will give us a look at many top prospects that have been brought along carefully, using these races as a springboard to Red Mile Grand Circuit events and beyond. Let the games begin, it’s gonna be fun from here forward.

First post on Sunday at The Red Mile is 7:30PM. It is must see racing.