Red Mile: Hard Four surprises in Kentucky Championship Series

Hard Four catapulted from a second-over trip to reel in and collar pace-setter Seine to win the $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series second preliminary for 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 11) at The Red Mile.

Leaving from post three, Hard Four (driven by Marvin Luna) secured a snug seat in the middle of the pack while 9-5 chalk Seine (Joe Bongiorno) bolted for the lead to a 26 3/5 first quarter. Bongiorno rated the leader's speed through a 55 second half and 1:23 2/5 three-quarters all while Luna secured a tow from first-up Wishawave (Todd McCarthy) heading through the last turn. Wishawave wavered rounding for home, prompting Luna to lift Hard Four off cover and lay aim on Seine through the long stretch. Hard Four built momentum and kept plugging to reach the beam a neck better than Seine, with Blue Eyed Stranger (Yannick Gingras) giving chase off a pocket trip for third and Gobstopper (Tim Tetrick) closing from near last for fourth.

Vernon Beachy trains Hard Four, a Stay Hungry-Throw The Dice gelding, for owner-breeder Ryan Smith. The gelding broke his maiden with the win, coming in the sixth start of his career, while pushing his bankroll to $68,729. He paid $37.76 to win.

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Tuesday’s card also featured three $30,000 divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series for 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings. Night Agent (Andy McCarthy, 1:50 2/5; $7.56), a Joe Holloway pupil graduating from the Kentucky Wildcat Series, persisted through a slight shuffle up front to post a two length win over closing Rumble And Sway (Tim Tetrick) to take top honors among the three dashes. Blazin Lou (Tim Tetrick, 1:51 1/5; $21.06) and Just Perfect Stuff (Joey Putnam, 1:51 4/5; $15.84) both converted from close stalking trips to take the other Commonwealth divisions.

Rookie pacing males also contested in three $15,000 Kentucky Golden Rod divisions. Reflector (Andy McCarthy, 1:52 4/5; $11.94), a foal out of Breeders Crown winner Reflect With Me, opened the card with a win in the first division, while Rowdy Station (Dexter Dunn, 1:52; $4.24) and Prowler (Terry Skinner, 1:52 4/5; $24.10) took the other divisions.

Strong rains entered the Lexington area late in the card, forcing The Red Mile to cancel the last two races on the 16-race card. Live harness racing resumes on Wednesday (Aug. 12) with a 16-race card headlined by the $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series second preliminary for 2-year-old trotting colts and geldings. First-race post time is 1 p.m. (EDT).

--press release (The Red Mile)--