from Red Mile

Lexington, KY — Some high profile youngsters and one blast from the past were out for the qualifying races at Red Mile on a perfect Bluegrass morning on Friday (Aug. 25). Temperatures were in the low 70s and a slight breeze faced the horses as they turned homeward.

The opener was for freshman trotters and Dewayne Minor unveiled a nice Donato Hanover colt named Found My Sloan with a front end 1:59.3 win over Prince William (Tony Alagna). The winner is owned by Glat Kosher Racing who made a winning bid of $18,000 for the colt at last fall’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale.

Americam Nation went for the second time Friday and was a 1:55.1 winner for trainer/driver Tony Alagna. With virtually no competition, the unraced American Ideal 3-year-old from Docdor Cameo set his own fractions and sprinted home into the breeze with a :27.4 final quarter handled confidently. Brittany Farms, Deo Volete Farms, In The Gym Partners and Americam Art Stable may find he’s been worth the wait.

The Yankee Glide freshman trotting filly Glide Baby Glide took a nice mark of 1:58.3, setting all the fractions for driver Tom T. Tetrick and trainer Rodney Debeck. She was adding the trotting hobbles and that change apparently made all the difference as she stayed flat and went three seconds faster than any previous line. She was a Lexington Selected Yearling Sale $5,000 bargain for owners Kathy Montgomery and Terry White.

Tony Alagna drove the freshman Cantab Hall colt Gallant Man ($350,000 at Lexington Selected Yearling Sale) to an impressive second place finish from the pocket, gaining on the winner late, falling just short of being a winner at first asking.

The Alagna stable finished 1-2 in the next race with a pair of sharp looking 3-year-old trotters when Signal Hill won for Tony over Chardonnay Hill in 1:55. They followed along as Jackie Gray and Beer Dad sailed past the half in :55.4 when Tony moved Signal Hill around that one on the turn with Chardonnay Hall in hot pursuit and they came to the wire together.

Making a trip in from the past via the way back machine was 2015 Messenger Stakes winner Revenge Shark, who hasn’t been seen in competition on the racetrack since the Bluegrass stakes that fall. Tony Alagna drove the now 5-year-old to a 1:53.3 mile, not bad off a two-year hiatus. Tony still owns Revenge Shark in partnership with Brad Grant.

That’s it from Red Mile until Saturday night when the Kentucky Sires Stakes freshman trotters return for leg two at 7 p.m.