Lexington, Kentucky — On Sunday (18 August) towards (Always B Miki-Blood Red) made a statement with her triumph in the $80,000 second round of the Kentucky Sire Stakes Championship Series (KYSS) for 3-year-old fillies, while Chat Room (Chapter Seven-Fatima Blush) caused a surprise in the division of male freshmen pacers at The Red Mile.
Although many were eagerly awaiting the return of Kentucky champion and Dan Patch Award winner Geocentric, Direction (Todd McCarthy) finished first. On August 6, she finished second to Its A Love Thing, who has won four straight races, at the same oval track.
Without the winner of the Fan Hanover final and the Jerry Silverman Memorial in this field, Direction took the lead after the gate’s wings unfolded, setting off the first quarter-mile time in :28.1. Bath Bomb (Yannick Gingras) took the lead before the halfway point in :55.2, with Direction sitting in the pocket and Fearless Bettor following in third.
When it was time for the final drive down the home stretch, Direction was able to fend off Bath Bomb but had to fend off the late push from Fearless Bettor.
The Brett Pelling-trained racer beat Fearless Bettor by a nose, setting a new record of 1:50.1 with a final quarter in :27. Neridas Wish (Andrew McCarthy) rounded out the trio as an outsider at 31:1. The favorite Geocentric (Tim Tetrick) was fourth.
DIRECTION REPEAT
Direction was bred by Diamond Creek Farm and competes at the facility. The mare improved her overall record to 13-9-1-2 and has now earned $156,796 in two seasons of racing.
In 2024, it will be 7-5-1-0.
Direction is the first foal of her dam, a half-sister to Blood Brother (Somebeachsomewhere, $980,795), Blood Line (Somebeachsomewhere, $569,006) and Blood Feud (Somebeachsomewhere, $184,045). Blood Red is a full sister to Blood Money (Sweet Lou, $472,300).
As the second selection in the bet, the filly paid $5.60 to win.
Chat Room (Gingras) broke the three-race winning streak of heavily favored Super Chapter (Dexter Dunn) to claim his third victory in six pari-mutuel miles in the $80,000 third running of the KYSS for two-year-old male trotters. The finishing time of 1:56 was also a new personal best. Go Dog Go (Todd McCarthy) was second and Super Chapter third.
Chat Room is coached by John Butenschoen.
Longshot Landing On Time (Scott Zeron) led the field of 12 riders in the :28.3, :58 and 1:27.4 sections while Chat Room was in second place. When Landing On Time tired on the home stretch, Chat Room simply continued his strong performance and was rewarded with a trip to the winner’s circle.
The favourite Super Chapter started from eighth on the grid and did not have a particularly smooth ride. Chat Room and Go Dog Go took second and fourth on the grid.
CHAT ROOM REPEAT
Bred by Marvin Katz, Sam Goldband and Al Libfeld, Chat Room is the third foal by his non-racing dam and was purchased at the 2023 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale for $47,000 by James Crawford IV, Charles Rowe, David Miller and Lawrence Means.
Chat Room’s granddam is a full sister to World Champion and Ohio stallion Dejarmbro (Credit Winner, $1.13 million).
The gelding has amassed earnings of $90,280.
Chat Room offered his followers a profit of $26.84 as their third choice in the bet.
Davenport strides to victory in the Commonwealth Series
Davenport, a half-sister to 2023 Horse of the Year Confederate, set a new personal best of 1:49.3 in the second round of the $30,000 Kentucky Commonwealth Series for 3-year-old fillies at the trot, with Capytreach (A. McCarthy) taking second and Real Deal Lindy taking third.
Davenport is from Captain Crunch and trained by Pelling. The filly is owned by Diamond Creek Racing and was bred by Diamond Creek Farm.
She paid $7.56 for the win. Her record is 12-6-3-1 and she has $66,985 in the bank.
Yannick G Kemp (Peter Wrenn) won the first of two $30,000 Commonwealth Series second races for two-year-old male trotters in 1:54, while Castel Lindy (Dunn) finished in the second division for that age and sex in 1:57.4.
The races will take place on Monday (August 19) and Tuesday (August 20) on the Red Mile. The first start each day is at 1pm.
To get free program pages that handicap the racetrack with the lowest takeout in the sport, visit com.
Click here to view the full race results: Results of the US Trotting Competition
from Kimberly Frenchfor The Red Mile
