Kiwi reinsman dominates Red Mile
AFTER breaking and finishing ninth in the $1,000,000 Hambletonian, Really Fast rebounded with a forceful 1:52.3 performance to take the $40,000 second-round division of the Kentucky Championship Series for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings at The Red Mile yesterday.
Driver Dexter Dunn dashed the son of Muscle Hill to the top from post five as Venerate and Rattle My Cage made breaks at the start.
Kildare King protected position from the pylons to sit the pocket moving to a 27.4-second first quarter and gave chase as Really Fast sped to the half in 55.2 seconds before opening daylight.
Kildare King began to falter into the final turn, leaving Really Fast five-lengths clear past three-quarters in 1:23.3.
With then 10 lengths detached from the field, Really Fast coasted to the finish as 1-2 favourite Dancinginthedark M made late gains to take second.
Tangled Love finished third, with Venerate regaining stride early and rallying for fourth.
Trained by Nancy Takter and owned by Brixton Medical Inc, Hatfield Stablers, Marvin Katz and breeder Al Libfeld, Really Fast won his fifth race from 10 starts for earnings of $188,375.
Trainer-driver Jordan Derue bested a classy field in the $40,000 Kentucky Championship split for three-year-old trotting fillies with Empressive Hill, which recovered from a parked mile in round one to deliver as the 9-5 choice in a 1:52.4 mile.
Empressive Hill scored by four-and-a-half lengths from Lady Chaos, with Piper Hanover settling for third.
Co-owned by Derue with Bruce Soulsby, Alan Weisenberg and Gil Short, Empressive Hill won her fourth race from five starts this season and her sixth from 12 overall.
Altar ($2.20) blew away her competition in the second of two $20,000 Kentucky Commonwealth divisions for three-year-old trotting fillies, winning by 10lengths in 1:51.4 for trainer Nancy Takter and driver Dexter Dunn, who registered a total of five wins on the afternoon.
Three of those came for Takter.
Dunn also piloted the fastest winner of the two $20,000 Kentucky Commonwealth divisions for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings when passing the beam with Platinum As for trainer Anette Lorentzon in 1:55.
Flemsteen popped pocket to narrowly take the other division for driver Aaron Merriman and trainer Chris Beaver in a 1:56.1 mile.
Sandwiched in the stakes action, Lexington-based James Luttrell recorded his first training victory when his four-year-old Unclepete Forcash won a $5100 overnight race in 1:56.2 with Dunn in the cart.
By RAY COTOLO for The Red Mile
