Red Mile: Birr Castle headlines Friday International Stallion Stakes

Finishing no worse than second in all seven of her starts with already a half-million dollars banked, Grade 1 Jim Doherty Memorial winner Birr Castle looks to return to the winner’s circle when she starts as the odds-on favorite in the first of two $139,000 International Stallion Stakes divisions for 2-year-old trotting fillies—sponsored by Midland Acres—on Friday (Oct. 9) at The Red Mile.

Birr Castle, one of four for trainer Marcus Melander in the division slated as Race 11, lands the outermost post in the septet following a runner-up effort over an off track in a division of the Grade 3 Bluegrass last Friday (Oct. 2). Scott Zeron retains the assignment on the daughter of Captain Corey, listed as the 4-5 morning line favorite, as she starts widest of her stablemates Sabia (driven by Mattias Melander, post 4, 6-1 morning line), Love’s Passion (Dexter Dunn, post 5, 9-2) and A Tale Of Kemp (Todd McCarthy, post 6, 8-1).

The second division for freshman trotting fillies attracts Bluegrass division winner Beauts Cabaret (Yannick Gingras, post 3, 2-1), who waltzed through tepid fractions on the lead to then stave off all late pursuers for a neck victory in 1:55 2/5. She faces six other rivals in Race 13 on the day including Kentucky Golden Rod Series winner Mine Mine Mine (Dexter Dunn, post 2, 7-2), who looks to stay flat following a last-place effort when breaking stride in the mud last week, as well as Golden Rod Series runner-up Putitondad’stab (Scott Zeron, post 6, 6-1) and million-dollar yearling Dejeuner (Andy McCarthy, post 5, 8-1).

Ron Burke’s pair of Stonebridge Blitz (Yannick Gingras, post 4, 5-2) and Ocean Party (Dexter Dunn, post 2, 7-2) lead the charge for the first $104,000 division of the International Stallion Stakes for 2-year-old pacing males on Friday, carded as Race 9 and sponsored by the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown. Stonebridge Blitz nabbed a maiden-breaking win in his Bluegrass division last week by a head over Ocean Party while subsequently denying that stablemate his maiden-breaking score. Burke also sends maiden Midwind Buxton (Joe Bongiorno, post 8, 8-1) from a tough trip in the Grade 3 Elevation on Sept. 25 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park in a race that also includes prominent finishers from last week’s Bluegrass in Fairway To Heaven (Andy McCarthy, post 7, 9-2) and Vandros (Tim Tetrick, post 6, 6-1).

Rumble And Sway (Tim Tetrick, post 4, 2-1) fronts the charge for the other $104,000 International Stallion Stakes division for freshman pacing males, carded as Race 12 and sponsored by the Captaintreacherous Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms. The Brett Pelling pupil glided over the mud from the pylon draw for a pillar-to-post win in 1:51.4 by 5-1/2 lengths in his Bluegrass dash last week. He’ll face another Bluegrass division winner in Blazin Lou (Todd McCarthy, post 9, 7-2) inside of this race along with Grandline Station (Joe Bongiorno, post 5, 8-1), who finished runner-up to Blazin Lou last week at odds of 51-1, in the nine-horse field.

First-race post time for the 14-race card on Friday is 1 p.m. (EDT). For more information on the 2026 live harness racing season, visit The Red Mile website (https://www.redmileracing.com).

 -edited release (by Ray Cotolo for Red Mile)