Red Mile: Dunn, Ryder keep the beat going in Bluegrass Series
Chris Ryder and Dexter Dunn's hot start to the Grand Circuit meet at The Red Mile continued on Friday as they teamed up with Handlelikeaporsche and Admiral Hill to win two of the three $109,000 Bluegrass Series tilts for 2-year-old colt and gelding pacers.
Handlelikeaporsche was the last horse to make the lead, taking command coming to the 56 2/5 half in his split. From there, Handlelikeaporsche kept control and began to open up racing to a 1:23 3/5 three-quarters, and he blasted home in 26 4/5 to win by 8 1/4 lengths in 1:50 2/5. Gung Ho (David Miller) was second, followed by It's My Show (Yannick Gingras).
A colt from the first crop of Lazarus, Handlelikeaporsche is also co-owned by Ryder in partnership with William Ezzo, Robert Mondillo, and Barry Spak. Bred by M.K. and Kathryn Weed, Handlelikeaporsche was a $100,000 Standardbred Horse Sale buy last year. He has compiled a record of 2-3-0 from five appearances, has pocketed $179,000, and paid $4.46 to win as the favorite.
Admiral Hill and Dunn re-moved to the top approaching the 55 3/5 half in the final division, held off Mamba (Matt Kakaley) through three-quarters in 1:23 4/5, and used a 27 second final quarter to keep Mamba at bay and score by a length and a quarter in 1:50 4/5. Lousain Bolt (Gingras) was up for third.
"I guess we [classified him] pretty right with this fellow," Ryder said after the race on starting Admiral Hill in the Kentucky Golden Rod Series, in which he won the $50,000 final by seven lengths in 1:50. "We started at the bottom because he was a slow developer. I knew he had some talent, but he wasn't showing us much, and the experience did him a world of good. He just keeps getting better."
Tom Hill bred and owns the victorious Sweet Lou colt. Admiral Hill hasn't been outside the top two in six efforts, winning three times and finishing second on the other occasions, and he has now banked $98,250. He returned $4.10 to win as the chalk.
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The first flight ended up being the fastest one as Lyons Surfing (Tim Tetrick) tipped out after tracking American Fling (Brian Sears) through fractions of 28, 56, and 1:23 3/5, went by the pace-setter in the lane, and then drew off for a 5 1/4 length decision in 1:50 1/5. Cannibal (Todd McCarthy) was second and Ervin Hanover (Gingras) overcame getting knocked off-stride by a breaker on the final bend to get up for third.
Jim King Jr. trains Lyons Surfing, a Hanover Shoe Farms-bred colt by Stay Hungry, for owner Threelyonsracing. Lyons Surfing has won half of his eight races, pushed his earnings to $163,587, and paid $7.66 to win as the second choice.
"He's been very likeable all along," King Jr. said after the race. "[He] hasn't always done quite as much as I thought he should, but he's been getting better and better. We like him. [Tim] said 'This is what we've been looking for. He's okay.'"
--quotes courtesy of Ray Cotolo--