Oak Grove: Women Layer repeats in Kentucky Sire Stakes

Todd McCarthy circled Women Layer to the top and muscled through a quick mile to score easily again in his $50,000 division of the second preliminary of Kentucky Sire Stakes (KYSS) for 4-year-old male pacers at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel on Monday afternoon (April 28).

Leaving from post two, McCarthy moved for the lead after brother Andy McCarthy cleared command with Better Is Nice to a 26 1/5 first quarter. Women Layer took over control passing the stands and sailed through the remainder of the mile, clocking a 54 3/5 half and 1:22 3/5 three-quarters before sealing the win by 1 1/2 lengths under wraps in 1:50. Better Is Nice held second while Nuclear (driven by David Miller) rallied for third and Courtship (Marcus Miller) settled for fourth.

A 4-year-old gelding by Sweet Lou, Women Layer has now won 14 times from 23 starts and has earned $436,079. Virgil Morgan Jr. trains the gelding for owners Let It Ride Stables Inc., Douglas Overhiser, Jeff Fought Racing and Larry Wills. He paid $2.56 to win.

Steely Knife (Trace Tetrick) pulled a 10-1 upset in the other KYSS division for the group when capitalizing off fast fractions to surge forward for a 1:51 1/5 win. Tetrick waited while Swaggy Cal (Jeremy Indof) cut a swift mile of 26 4/5, 55 1/5 and 1:22 4/5 before hitting the ropes with rivals swarming. Total Stranger (Todd McCarthy) led the two-wide charge to the final turn, and Steely Knife used his tow to launch three-high coming around the final turn and build momentum for the stretch drive. Steely Knife kept fighting down the center of the track and reeled in Swaggy Cal to post a neck win at the beam, with Copperfield (Andy McCarthy) rallying from last for third. Lou Hill (Dexter Dunn), the 4-5 favorite, sat a pocket trip and only found room late to finish fourth.

Ron Burke trains Steely Knife, a gelding by Always B Miki, for owners Burke Racing Stable, Knox Services, Phil Collura, J & T Silva Stables and Purnel & Libby. He won his seventh race from 38 starts, has now earned $341,587 and paid $22.86 to win.

Woman Of Passion (Todd McCarthy) rebounded from a neck defeat in leg one to post a romp in leg two with a 1:53 mile in the mare trot. McCarthy took command with the 1-2 chalk and cut a tempo of 27, 57 2/5 and 1:25 while many of her rivals either broke stride or gave futile chase in her seven length win. Pizelle (David Miller) picked up pieces from a ground-saving trip for second while Pisco Sour (Andy McCarthy) took third from a parked mile and Black Button (Marcus Miller) closed for fourth.

Winning her 12th race from 26 starts, Woman Of Passion has now earned $364,499 for owner-breeder Al Libfeld. Carter Pinske trains the Walner mare who paid $3.08 to win.

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Pacing mare Bath Bomb (Andy McCarthy) registered a repeat win in KYSS preliminaries with a 1:50 1/5 win on the engine. After clearing from post seven through a 26 second first quarter, Bath Bomb grabbed a breather to a 55 1/5 half but accelerated for the backside as 1-2 favorite Asweetbeachhere (Todd McCarthy) followed intently from the pocket. Asweetbeachhere took an early shot at Bath Bomb moving to three-quarters in 1:22 1/5 and kept fighting while Peace Talks (Dexter Dunn) loomed three-wide behind the dueling pair. Bath Bomb held her ground all through the stretch to keep a neck up on Asweetbeachhere at the end, with Peace Talks taking third and Fearless Bettor (David Miller) finishing another five lengths behind in fourth.

Per Engblom trains Bath Bomb, a daughter of Lather Up with six wins from 18 starts and $169,360 earned on her card, for owner Morrison Racing Stables. She paid $8.10 to win.

Convoy Hall (David Miller) kicked from a second-over trip to win the $50,000 KYSS dash for trotting horses and geldings with a 1:54 1/5 effort. Miller found cover to follow from odds-on chalk Bargain (Dexter Dunn) moving to a 55 4/5 half and stayed perched while inching forward towards tempo-setter Ways N Means (Andy McCarthy) on the march to three-quarters in 1:24 4/5. As Ways N Means tired on the top, Miller launched Convoy Hall three-wide and powered by his peers in the stretch to register a three length win in the end over Bargain. Hung Over (Marvin Luna) kicked from a pocket trip late for third and Ways N Means held fourth.

Carter Pinske trains Convoy Hall, a gelding by Muscle Mass, for owners Doug McIntosh, Randy Liepa and Beverley Snobelen. He has won eight races from 11 starts, has now earned $141,973 and paid $7.66 to win.

Dandy's Mercy (Marcus Miller) wired her rivals to open the Monday card in the $33,000 Fillies & Mares Open Handicap Pace. Miller cut a clip of 27, 56 4/5 and 1:24 2/5 before wrapping the mile in 1:52 with a 1 1/2 length win under minimal encouragement. Yankee B Something (Tony Hall) chased from a pocket trip for second with JK's Shining Star (Marvin Luna) saving ground for third and No Foolin April (Dexter Dunn) faltering from a first-over push for fourth.

John Butenschoen trains Dandy's Mercy, a 4-year-old mare by Captain Crunch, for owners Hart Walker, Dandy Farms Racing, FT Racing Stable and Douglas Overhiser. She won her 11th race from 25 starts, has now earned $276,409 and paid $4.30 to win.

Racing continues at Oak Grove on Tuesday (April 22) with a 13-race card headlined by the $33,000 Open Trot in Race 10. Tuesday's card also features a carryover in the Pick 4, covering Races 8 through 11, worth $1,682.02. First race post time at Oak Grove is 1:45 p.m. (CDT). For more information on Oak Grove, visit oakgrovegaming.com.

--press release (Oak Grove)--