Red Mile: Favorites go winless in Bluegrass events for rookie filly trotters

Two-year-old trotting fillies met up on Saturday afternoon at The Red Mile in four Bluegrass Stakes divisions, and Presto, Pub Crawl, Hello I Love You, and Anoka Hanover were the winners.

Presto (Ake Svanstedt) won the fastest of the flights, taking the $87,000 opener in 1:53. She led to the 27 3/5 first quarter but was overtaken by You Ato Dream (Jeff Gregory) beyond that point. You Ato Dream kept the tempo high after taking over, ripping through a half in 54 4/5 and a three-quarters in 1:23 4/5, but Presto came to the outside in the lane and wore her down in the closing strides to win by a head. Rose Run Whitney (Matt Kakaley) rallied for third.

"So far she has been doing good every time," remarked Svanstedt. "It's only in the race that she's nice to drive. She's a puller when we train her at home, but she's a real race horse. She left fast and came home good."

A daughter of Trixton, Presto is trained by Svanstedt for owner Brixton Medical Inc. This was her third win from five starts, and she has now made $96,800. Bred by William Jones and Steve Stewart, Presto was a $75,000 buy at last year's Lexington Selected Yearling Sale and is out of the Dream Vacation mare Susie's Magic (1:52 4/5, $705,349). Presto was sent off at 10-1 and paid $22.60 to win.

Another upset occurred in the second $87,000 Bluegrass battle when 15-1 shot Pub Crawl tallied in 1:53 4/5 for driver Andy Miller. Pub Crawl got away in fourth and stayed on the inside through panels of 28, 56 1/5, and 1:24 3/5 that were set by Eazy Pass (Mark MacDonald). Shuffled back to sixth at three-quarters, Pub Crawl found racing room on the inside when Iteration (Brian Sears) angled to the outside from the three-hole in the lane and rallied through, out-kicking pocket-sitter Flawless Country (Svanstedt) for the decision by a length and three-quarters. Iteration wound up third.

From the first crop of Bar Hopping, Pub Crawl is trained by Julie Miller for owners Andy Miller Stable Inc., Lou Willinger, Kapildeo Singh, and Phillip Helmuth. Pub Crawl, who now has a record of 4-2-1 from ten tries to go with earnings of $176,263, was bred by Fair Winds Farm Inc. and Steve Jones and was a $75,000 acquisition at the 2019 Standardbred Horse Sale. Pub Crawl's dam is the Lindy Lane mare Myth (1:57 3/5, $2,875), making Pub Crawl a half-sister to Mythical Lindy (SJ's Caviar, 1:53 2/5, $629,104) and Mythical Hall (Andover Hall, 1:54 4/5, $587,320). Pub Crawl returned $32.80 to win.

Hello I Love You (Joe Bongiorno) followed along in the three-hole through stations of 28, 56 1/5, and 1:26 in the third Bluegrass test, switched outside in upper stretch and then back to the inside in mid-stretch, and surged by pocket-sitter Beautiful Game (David Miller) score by a length and a half in 1:54 2/5. Frankly My Dear (Kakaley) was the third-place finisher.

Tony Alagna trains Hello I Love You, a filly by Trixton, for owners Let It Ride Stables Inc., M T Pockets Stables, Alagna Racing LLC., and Marvin Katz. Hello I Love You now has two victories and a second from seven trips behind the gate, and she pushed her bankroll to $58,200. Bred by Docs Farm Inc., Hello I Love You is out of the Malabar Man mare Flirtin Miss (1:55, $486,950), a former Breeders Crown 2-Year-Old Filly Trot champion. Hello I Love You paid $10.20 to win as a 4-1 offering.

Completing the Bluegrass winners for rookie trotting fillies on the day was Anoka Hanover (Todd McCarthy), who won her $88,000 grouping in 1:54. After taking back to sixth, Anoka Hanover remained in that spot through fractions of 28 3/5, 57 2/5, and 1:25 3/5, working out a third-over trip. In the lane pace-setter May Karp (Dexter Dunn) got spearation on the field, but Anoka Hanover came with a determined rally that got her past that foe approaching the wire to win by half a length. Hot As Hill (D. Miller) checked in third.

"There were a couple that got away pretty good early there, and I didn't want to push her too much," said McCarthy. "When we settled where we did, it looked like I was going to sort of get a bit of good trip into it. I know she's got a lot of trot late, and I was just gonna hope that we had enough to get there."

Trainer Noel Daley also co-owns Anoka Hanover, a daughter of Donato Hanover, with L.A. Express Stable LLC. and Caviart Farms. Anoka Hanover, who was bred by Hanover Shoe Farms Inc., was taken out of the 2019 Standardbred Horse Sale for $35,000 and now has five triumphs from nine appearances, in addition to stashing away $177,216. Anoka Hanover is the fifth foal out of the Yankee Glide mare Aunt Mel (1:54, $280,332), and returned $7.20 to win as a 5-2 shot.