Harness: Red Mile readies for Kentucky-bred showdowns

Freshmen trotting colts and fillies will be the first to spar in the month-long Kentucky Champion Series, which annually attracts Kentucky-bred horses from across the country. Sunday's (Aug. 1) first round features four total divisions, going each for $40,000.

Conditioner Tony Alagna sends the morning-line choice in the opening division for colts and geldings, carded as Race 1, with Gigondas, a Brad Grant-owned colt by Trixton. He leads a seven-horse contingent off a 1:55.3 off-the-pace score in a $15,000 prep for the Kentucky Championship Series held on July 19. He'll start from post 3 with Andrew McCarthy in the sulky.

Just outside of Gigondas starts a pair of New Jersey-sired underdogs. The first, Bully Boy Hill from post 5, enters off a pair of runner-up finishes - one coming to Peter Haughton favourite King Of The North - as well as a ninth-place finish in the New Jersey Sires Stakes (NJSS) final. The second, Ken's Walner from post 6, will try to break his maiden off a third-place finish in his NJSS debut and a fourth-place effort in the opening preliminary of the Kindergarten.

Division two, going as Race 9, for the males gathers eight trotting competitors led by Keg Stand, a Nancy Takter trainee listed as the 2-1 favorite on the morning line. Dexter Dunn retains the drive on the Bar Hopping colt with four starts to his credit this season, a pair of those being victories against Pennsylvania-sired competition. He races for owners Black Horse Racing, Christina Takter and John Fielding, and will try to rebound following a fifth-place finish where he faltered on the lead in a Pennsylvania Sires Stakes division.

Inside Keg Stand scores a strong pair. From post 2, Tony Alagna sends Majestic J following a third-place effort in the NJSS final after sweeping the first two preliminaries. David Miller steers that Walner colt for owner Kenneth Jacobs and starts just inside of Iwon't Backdown As, the Anette Lorentzon-trained gelding by Lionhunter who won on debut at 12-1 in an Indiana Sires Stake in 1:56 3/5. Tim Tetrick drives that gelding from post 3 for owner ACL Stuteri Ab.

The first division for fillies will complete the early Daily Double with a full-field of 10 spanning across the red clay. Trainers Tony Alagna and Nancy Takter again have the likely public choices, with Alagna sending 5-2 shot More Than Ever and Takter sending 2-1 favorite Selfie Queen. More Than Ever enters off a runner-up finish in the Kindergarten Series to Selfie Queen, who - in her first start with hopples - uncorked a :26 4/5 final quarter going first over to win in 1:54 2/5. Dexter Dunn pilots the Muscle Hill filly for Takter while Tim Tetrick gets the call behind Alagna’s Father Patrick debutante.

Batch two of the Kentucky Championship fillies start in Race 8 with another full field going to gate. In a tighter betting contest on the morning line, Nancy Takter trainee American Beauty has the slight nod with a 7-2 listing. The Walner filly, a homebred out of Hambletonian Oaks winner All The Time for Marvin Katz and Al Libfeld, enters off a 1:55 4/5 victory in the Kindergarten following a sharp rally in the second NJSS prelim, firing home in :27 2/5 to finish fifth. Dexter Dunn will drive the filly from post 5.

Trainer Chris Beaver sends the second choice on the morning line, Disclosure, from post 8. The Trixton filly has flaunted late sped through the NJSS, ripping sub-:28 final quarters in each prelim along with a :27 1/5 kicker to take the $25,000 consolation on July 16. Dan Noble grabs the drive on the Trixton filly owned by The Delaware Group, Equinex Racing Corp and Joe Sbrocco.

Sunday's 14-race card in Lexington also features six divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series - three for the boys and three for the fillies. First-race post is 1:00 p.m. (EDT).

-edited release (Ray Cotolo for The Red Mile)