Red Mile: Captain Arturovico, Three Times Bettor cruise in Kentucky Sire Stakes

Odds-on choice Captain Arturovico swept to the lead past the quarter and held authority to the finish for a comfortable 1:49 1/5 victory in the $35,000 kickoff leg of the Kentucky Sire Stakes (KYSS) for 4-year-old pacing males on Monday afternoon (July 27) at The Red Mile.

Driver Dexter Dunn eased into third with Captain Arturovico from the pylon post as Damn The Torpedoes (driven by Andy McCarthy) crossed over from post seven to grab the lead to a 27 4/5 first quarter. Dunn soon pulled his charge from the pylons and brushed to the top before a 55 2/5 half and cruised under minimal pressure to three-quarters in 1:22 4/5. From there, he glided home for a 3 3/4 length victory while Damn The Torpedoes gave chase in second with Fusion (Josert Fonseca) rallying from a third-over trip for third and Somelousomewhere (Atlee Bender) levelling off from a first-over bid past the half for fourth.

Ron Burke trains Captain Arturovico, a 4-year-old Captaintreacherous-Tilikum gelding, for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC., Weaver Bruscemi LLC., Larry Karr and Phil Collura. The gelding collected his fifth win from 13 starts this season and his 17th victory from 43 starts in his career, pushing his earnings to $542,559. He paid $3.08 to win.

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Dunn also scored in the $35,000 KYSS opening prelim for 4-year-old pacing mares, contested as a non-betting race before the pari-mutuel card, with Brett Pelling pupil Three Times Bettor in a 1:50 1/5 mile. After sitting a pocket trip to pace-setter Odds On Chesapeake (Luke Hanners) through opening fractions of 28 1/5 and 55 1/5, Three Times Bettor lifted after the leader approaching three-quarters in 1:24 1/5 and surged by smoothly in the stretch for a 1 3/4 length win. Odds On Chesapeake finished second with Caviart Delight (Todd McCarthy) closing for third and Rose (Andy McCarthy) settling for fourth.

A daughter of Bettor's Delight-Three Times A Lady, Three Times Bettor competes for owner Thaddeus Wier. She won her seventh race from nine starts this season and her 16th race from 26 starts in her career, good for $422,314 in earnings.

Live harness racing at The Red Mile resumes on Tuesday (July 28) with a 15-race card headlined by a $35,000 KYSS division for 4-year-old trotting males. A $35,000 KYSS split for 4-year-old trotting mares will also be held as a non-betting race before the pari-mutuel card, which begins at 1 p.m. (EDT).

--press release (Red Mile)--