Oak Grove: Trotters clash in 17 Kentucky Sire Stakes contests

Driver Dexter Dunn posted another five-win day on "Tuesday at the Trots" (July 7) at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel, including a sweep of the $60,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes (KYSS) "A" divisions for trotting 3-year-olds with a pair of Marcus Melander pupils, which were part of a three-win day for the trainer.

Zephyr Kemp brushed to the top past a 27 3/5 first quarter and cruised to a 1:53 2/5 victory in the KYSS "A" division for sophomore trotting males. Dunn cleared stablemate Midwind Chimp (driven by Mattias Melander) and coasted through middle fractions of 56 3/5 and 1:25 4/5 before pulling away for a three length victory under a firm hold. Onemorenkickmeout (Atlee Bender) kicked from a ground-saving trip for second over Midwind Chimp, while Conboy (Joey Putnam) also hugged the cones for fourth.

A Calgary Games-Southwind Adele colt owned by Kemppi Stables Oy Inc., Suojalampi Stable Inc., PCW Racing LLC. and Sjoeblom Racing Inc., Zephyr Kemp won his second race from five starts this season and his fifth race from 15 starts in his career, earning $162,150. He paid $3.58 to win.

In the following race, Dunn vaulted over the top with Melander trainee Crossover for a 1:53 1/5 victory in the KYSS "A" division for sophomore trotting fillies. Dunn planted his charge into third while Heart For Two (Yannick Gingras) sped from a wide draw to the lead in a 27 4/5 first quarter. Heart For Two stayed steady to a 56 2/5 half but endured a challenge to three-quarters in 1:24 4/5 as odds-on favorite Naked And Famous (Todd McCarthy) loomed from the pocket with Crossover following her cover. Naked And Famous stalled in her challenge while Crossover edged three-wide spinning for home and powered by her rivals with ease to slide away for a 2 1/4 length win. Heart For Two held second from pylon-skimming Avenzee (Tim Tetrick) in third with Naked And Famous finishing evenly in fourth.

A daughter of Gimpanzee-Piranha Fury competing for owner S R F Stable, Crossover won her third race from five starts this season and her fifth race from 12 starts in her career, earning $100,418. She paid $6.20 to win.

Dunn piloted Melander's other winning trainee on the day with a front-stepping effort by Octavius (1:57 2/5 winning mile; $2.86 to win) in the second of three $40,000 KYSS "B" divisions for 2-year-old trotting colts and geldings. The other winners from Dunn's five on the day included Marino (1:55 4/5; $10.58), who rallied off a helmet to win the first "B" division for 2-year-old trotting males, and a first-over sweep to the last turn for victory by Coreys Love (1:54 3/5; $18.28) in the third of four KYSS "B" divisions for 3-year-old trotting fillies.

► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter

Chris Beaver trainee Special Day (Andy McCarthy) blitzed up the rim rounding the last turn to score a 1:54 1/5 win in the $60,000 KYSS "A" division for 2-year-old trotting males. McCarthy floated away fourth as favorites Carbon Fiber (Yannick Gingras) and Delivery Boy (Dewayne Minor) swooped forward towards the top in a contentious 28 1/5 first quarter. Delivery Boy marched to the lead approaching three-eighths to pocket Carbon Fiber and clocked a 56 4/5 half before hitting the brakes for three-quarters. As Minor tried to grab a breather, McCarthy angled out into an attack and surged to the lead with Special Day after three-quarters in 1:25 4/5 before edging away for a two length win. Delivery Boy held second from Carbon Fiber in third with Oddsologist (Dexter Dunn) chasing in fourth.

Co-owned by Beaver with Bill Manes and Leo Fleming, Special Day is unbeaten from two starts and has banked $50,000. The Walner-Hello Tomorrow colt paid $14.92 to win.

Merry Zee (Yannick Gingras) took command early and scored the tactical edge on 4-5 favorite Redice (Atlee Bender) to win the $60,000 KYSS "A" division for 2-year-old trotting fillies in a 1:56 1/5 mile. After taking the lead to a 28 1/5 first quarter, Merry Zee yielded control briefly to 47-1 shot Giveheavenhill (Junior Guelpa), who raced wide all through the first turn until clearing command after three-eighths. Gingras looped back to the lead with Merry Zee to a 58 second half and coasted up the backside while Redice worked into a second-over position behind longshot Carly P (Todd McCarthy). While Carly P stalled in her bid to three-quarters in 1:27 2/5, Merry Zee scooted away from the field and opened nearly three lengths rounding for home as Redice found clear sailing. Merry Zee held firmly to the finish for a 2 3/4 length win over Redice while Luxe Lindy (Tyler Miller) rallied to take third from Carly P.

Ron Burke trains Merry Zee, a Gimpanzee-Merry Ann filly, for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC., Knox Services Inc. and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. She won her first race in her second start and has now earned $40,000, paying a $5.66 mutuel for the victory.

The fastest mile of the 17-race card actually came from the final KYSS "B" division for 3-year-old trotting colts and geldings when Lucas Wallin trainee Kaizen (Markus Niklasson) stayed unbeaten with a lifetime-best 1:52 4/5 effort. Niklasson sat patiently with the $350,000 yearling purchase as favorite August Salazar (Yannick Gingras) cut early fractions of 27 2/5 and 56 4/5. Kaizen then advanced up the rim to three-quarters in 1:25 under chilly handling and with the whip tucked away before spurting by August Salazar in the stretch sprint for a half-length win. Kjell Andersen owns the Walner-Jolene Jolene colt who paid $10.68 to win.

Of the remaining KYSS "B" divisions on the day: Back Country (Tim Tetrick, 1:57 2/5; $6.34) took the final dash for 2-year-old trotting males; the three splits for freshmen trotting fillies went to Heart Of Secret (Yannick Gingras, 1:56 2/5; $2.88), Lickety Split (Verlin Yoder, 1:58 1/5; $5.82) and Green Ballet (Andy McCarthy, 1:57 2/5; $20.70); the other two divisions for sophomore trotting males were taken by the Joe Bongiorno-trained tandem of Zidane Kemp (Tim Tetrick, 1:53; $9.26) and King Of The Wind (Tim Tetrick, 1:53 4/5; $3.96); and the other three splits for sophomore trotting fillies went to Calyx (Todd McCarthy, 1:54; $12.84), Degas (Yannick Gingras, 1:53 3/5; $3.84) and Country Glide (Andy McCarthy, 1:53 2/5; $4.06).

Live racing at Oak Grove resumes with a 16-race card on Wednesday (July 8) featuring eight total divisions of KYSS for pacing 3-year-olds as well as a $40,000 Open Handicap Trot. First-race post time is 10:55 a.m. (CDT).

--press release (Oak Grove)--