Red Mile: Melander fillies break through in International Stallion Stakes

Trainer Marcus Melander swept the pair of $139,000 Grade 3 International Stallion Stakes divisions for 2-year-old trotting fillies - sponsored by Midland Acres - on Friday (Oct. 9) at The Red Mile with two longer-priced propositions in maidens A Tale Of Kemp and Sweetest Of All.

A Tale Of Kemp ripped from off the speed to stun at odds of 31-1 with a 1:52 4/5 effort to win the first split.

Driver Todd McCarthy hustled A Tale Of Kemp out of post six and towards the top but yielded as Patty's Girl (driven by Tim Tetrick) and 1-9 favorite Birr Castle (Scott Zeron) loomed up the rim to a 28 second first quarter. Patty's Girl took a brief lead before letting Birr Castle clear, and the odds-on chalk strode comfortably to a 55 2/5 half before slowing for a breather to the last turn. Caught Speeding (Yannick Gingras) tipped out of fourth to the last turn and blitzed onto equal terms with Birr Castle passing three-quarters in 1:24 2/5.

Birr Castle reengaged and repelled Caught Speeding in the stretch but clasped to a precarious lead in the final sixteenth. Patty's Girl shook free from the pocket and surged to a short-lived lead as McCarthy soared from off the pylons and down the center of the track to collar her rivals late for a neck victory. Birr Castle held third and Just Dior Her (Andy McCarthy) took fourth.

"She was pretty keen going to the gate, so I was just hoping once we got out of there she'd settle for me and we did," Todd McCarthy said after the race. "We were able to get a pretty good trip. Last week we were kind of boxed in there, [but that] probably did us a favor for this week - she was pretty confident there once she got daylight."

A filly by Walner, out of the E L Titan mare Speed Titan, A Tale Of Kemp competes for owners Kemppi Stables Oy, Suojalampi Stables, Sjoeblom Racing and A Tale Of Kemp Stable. She broke her maiden in the 10th start of her career, has now earned $121,520 and paid $64.58 to win.

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Sweetest Of All (Joe Bongiorno) towered over her peers a few races later to sweep by for a 1:52 4/5 win going away in the other International Stallion Stakes dash for freshman trotting fillies.

Bongiorno took back from the pylon draw and landed into fifth while Mine Mine Mine (Dexter Dunn) and Agano (Mattias Melander) pushed outside for the lead to a 29 second first quarter. Agano cleared Mine Mine Mine to the backstretch and then stretched out Beauts Cabaret (Yannick Gingras) as Gingras marched up the rim to finally get to the pylons and to the lead past a 55 3/5 half. As the tempo slowed to the last turn, Mine Mine Mine angled out of third and pressed uncovered towards Beauts Cabaret all while Bongiorno situated Sweetest Of All into a third-over seat coming to three-quarters in 1:24 2/5.

Mine Mine Mine ground past Beauts Cabaret turning for home as Bongiorno fanned Sweetest Of All to the center of the track, and she gathered steam to hit the lead entering the final eighth. Sweetest Of All spurted clear for a 2 1/4 length win over Two To The North (Todd McCarthy), rallying from near last for second, while Mine Mine Mine held third and Putitondad'stab (Scott Zeron) closed from last for fourth.

Breaking her maiden with the victory in the ninth start of her career, Sweetest Of All has now earned $103,300 for owner Vestmarka Ab. She paid $14.82 to win.

Live harness racing at The Red Mile will conclude for the 2026 season on Saturday (Oct. 10) with an 11-race card featuring nine graded stakes events capped by the $212,000 Grade 2 Glen Garnsey Memorial in Race 10 and the $365,000 Grade 2 Tattersalls Pace in Race 11. Saturday's card also features a $9,971.73 carryover into a mandatory payout Pick 5 starting in Race 3, as well as a $7,500 guaranteed Pick 4 starting in Race 6. Both the Pick 5 and Pick 4 are offered with an industry-low takeout of 12 percent.

First-race post time for closing day is 1 p.m. (EDT).

--press release (Red Mile)--