by Nick Salvi, for The Red Mile

Lexington, KY — The 114th Kentucky Futurity and the Tattersalls Pace headline a “Super Saturday” card with purses totaling $1,675,000 as the 2006 Grand Circuit meet comes to a close at The Red Mile.

The $526,000 Kentucky Futurity drew two $118,350 divisions of seven for the first heat, scheduled as races seven and eight on the program. The top five finishers from each will return for race 11, the $184,100 second heat. If a colt other than either of the first heat winners takes the second heat, those three will return for a $105,200 winner take all race-off.

The two colts that have dominated the headlines for the past few months, Hambletonian winner Glidemaster and World Trotting Derby champ Chocolatier both drew into the same division of the first heat.

Chocolatier was the top freshman trotting colt of 2005 and lowered the world record for that group to 1:54.4 here in Lexington last fall. This season has been one of peaks and valleys for the son of Credit Winner, with the highlights being his second place finish in the Hambo and wins in both the American-National and World Trotting Derby. Chocolatier is raced by the Ackerman family, with Doug the elder handling the care and training and son D. R. the driving duties. They share ownership of the colt with Southwind Farms and Lindy Farms.

Glidemaster has now passed $1 million in career earnings for Bob Burgess, Karin Olsson-Burgess, Marsha Cohen and Brittany Farms. Blair Burgess, who possesses an enviable knack for winning the big races, trains the son of Yankee Glide. His Hambletonian triumph reduced the stakes record to 1:51.1 and was driver John Campbell’s sixth in the classic.

Make You Mine, who gives Brittany Farms a strong contender in each division, leads the second split. The Self Possessed gelding loves The Red Mile and has been at his best recently for trainer Ron Gurfein. Global Glide and Bacardi Lindy are both enjoying successful seasons and come to this one in top form.

Shark Gesture is the hot horse going into his $288,000 division of the Tattersalls Pace, having won his last three here at The Red Mile for Norm and Gerald Smiley and the TLP Stable. He has always relished the clay surface and goes his best races over this strip. He’ll find North America Cup champ Total Truth and Illinois stalwart My Boy David waiting for him in the first split.

The other Tattersalls division contains Adios winner Cactus Creek and Confederation Cup champ Armbro Deuce. Cactus Creek gives trainer Erv Miller the morning line choice in both divisions, and has been on a form spree since early August for owners Brittany Farms, Val D’Or Stable and Stanley Friedman. Armbro Deuce could be part of a big day for the Burgess operation. He has become more consistent as the season wears on and went two big heats in the Jug.

The under card is a strong one with divisions of the $500,000 Allerage Farms FFA series for the older horses, luring the best of those groups to Lexington.