Oak Grove: Triple for Gingras in Kentucky-Bred Series races

Blue Diamond Eyes and Beltassima improved to three-for-three in the Kentucky-Bred Series for 4-year-olds at Oak Grove Racing & Gaming with victories in their $50,000 contests on Tuesday afternoon.

Driven by Yannick Gingras in the mare pace, Blue Diamond Eyes floated out from post three and moved up two-wide to take the lead away from Classicist (Andy McCarthy) after the 25 4/5 opening quarter. Once she was in control, Blue Diamond Eyes hit the half in 54 4/5 and the three-quarters in 1:23 1/5, and a 26 4/5 kicker got her to the wire 2 1/4 lengths ahead of fellow Ron Burke trainee High Minded (Kevin Wallis) in a 1:50 mile. Classicist wound up third.

Blue Diamond Eyes, a daughter of Captaintreacherous, is trained by Burke and owned by Thomas and Scott Dillon. She made her 14th appearance in the winner's circle, has now pocketed $1,227,714, and returned $2.10 to win as the 1-9 favorite.

In the mare trot, Beltassima (McCarthy) led her five foes through fractions of 28 1/5, 57 2/5, and 1:26 1/5 and then kicked away in the last quarter en route to an 11 length decision in 1:54 3/5. Shenzi AS (Todd Warren) got up for second and Highly Acclaimed (Dan Shetler) was placed third after Awesome Trix (Tony Hall) was moved from third to fifth for an extended break in the stretch.

A Trixton mare trained by Tony Alagna, Beltassima is owned by Crawford Farms LLC. This was her tenth career victory, and she has now earned $397,947. She was also 1-9 and paid $2.10 to win.

Goldie's Legacy (Gingras) bounced back after making a break last Tuesday to take the pace for horses and geldings. Goldie's Legacy clicked off panels of 27, 55 3/5, and 1:24 2/5, then sprinted home in 25 4/5 to beat pocket-sitter Komodo Beach (McCarthy) by a length and a half in 1:50 1/5. Caviart Lotus (Hall) checked in third.

Jeff Cullipher trains and co-owns Goldie's Legacy, a gelding by Always A Virgin, with Pollack Racing LLC. Goldie's Legacy is now a 15-time winner, and he pushed his bankroll to $439,910. He paid $6.80 to win as the 2-1 second choice.

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Gingras also captured the horse and gelding trot with Kildare King in a sweep of the exacta for trainer Chris Beaver. Kildare King stalked Jula Muscle Pack (McCarthy) from the pocket through stations of 27 4/5, 54 4/5, and 1:23 1/5, tipped out on the last turn, wrestled away the top spot midway on the bend, and held sway over Flemsteen (Joey Putnam) by a length in 1:51 4/5. Platinum AS (Hall) was third.

A gelding by Trixton, Kildare King is owned by breeder Robert Goodman. This was Kildare King's eight lifetime tally, and he has now earned $162,725. He returned $2.40 to win as the 1-5 favorite.

The Kentucky-Bred Series has one more preliminary round on July 12 before the $150,000 finals on July 19.