Red Mile: Nezuko Kamado S, Sea Bistro Hanover rally to Kentucky Championship Series triumphs

Nezuko Kamado S found the winner's circle in her first start since claiming the Grade 1 Hambletonian Oaks earlier in the month when she launched off cover for a 1:51 1/5 victory in the $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series third preliminary for sophomore trotting fillies on Sunday night (Aug. 30) at The Red Mile.

Leaving from post five, driver Scott Zeron secured a snug spot in the middle of the pack with Nezuko Kamado S while Heart For Two (driven by Yannick Gingras) pushed from the outermost draw for the lead to a 28 2/5 first quarter. Ygritte (Mattias Melander) soon circled from the pocket to the lead and then gave way as Jailbird Jog (Anthony MacDonald) brushed forward to seize command in the shuffle to a 56 1/5 half. Zeron found a seat third-over to the last turn, following uncovered Madam Cheval (Tim Tetrick) and second-over Islandgirl Hanover (Joe Bongiorno) and gradually fanned to the center of the track coming off three-quarters in 1:23 4/5. Nezuko Kamado S straightened and chugged over the top of her peers to snag the lead in the final sixteenth and surge to a three-quarter length win over Islandgirl Hanover. Ygritte took third and Carve (Andy McCarthy) closed from near last for fourth.

Marcus Melander trains Nezuko Kamado S, a homebred Chapter Seven-Zefira Kronos IT filly for Anders Strom's Courant Inc. The filly collected her sixth win from seven starts this season and her 12th victory from 18 starts in her career, pushing her earnings to $1,092,969. She paid $4.04 to win.

Sea Bistro Hanover (Todd McCarthy) ripped from last to first with a 24 2/5 final quarter in a three-horse showdown to win the $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series third preliminary for sophomore pacing males contested prior to the pari-mutuel card as a non-wagering race. McCarthy sat off of 28 1/5, 55 3/5 and 1:24 fractions cut by Ubrute (Yannick Gingras) before storming down the center of the track to grab the win by a length in a 1:49 mile over pocket-popping Funky Buddha (Dexter Dunn).

Brett Pelling trains Sea Bistro Hanover, a Captaintreacherous-Santa Rosa gelding, for owners David Mc Duffee, Paul Bordogna and Melvin Hartman. The gelding won his fifth race from 12 starts this season and his sixth race from 19 starts in his career, banking $217,387.

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Sunday's card also featured a pair of $30,000 Kentucky Commonwealth divisions for sophomore trotting fillies. She's Moni (Scott Zeron, 1:50 1/5 winning mile; $5.32 to win) took top honors from the two splits for trotting fillies after brushing to the lead past the quarter and strolling to a 3 1/4 length win over Joyofmylife As (Tony Hall) and odds-on favorite Crossover (Dexter Dunn). Degas (Yannick Gingras, 1:53; $10.80) converted a pocket trip to a head victory over first-up Naked And Famous (Todd McCarthy) to win the other dash by a head. Nancy Takter trains She's Moni for owners Brittany Farms LLC. and Marvin Katz while Eric Patalan conditions Degas for TheStable Degas Group.

Rockin Image gelding Door Dash (Yannick Gingras, 1:48 3/5; $3.24) posted the quicker win in the two Kentucky Commonwealth divisions for pacing glamour boys when winning pillar-to-post over pocket-chasing Louaville (Scott Zeron). Captaintreacherous colt Captain Apple (Dexter Dunn, 1:49 4/5; $8.54) rallied from a pocket ride a few races later to down pace-setter Thiago Hanover (Yannick Gingras) and win the other division by a half-length. Trent Stohler trains Door Dash for owners Trent Stohler Stable Inc., Ben Graber and Tim Graber while Chris Ryder trains Captain Apple for himself and partners Lisa Ezzo, Alan Johnston and Let It Ride Stables Inc.

Some other regally-blooded winners flourished on the Sunday card. Gandhi (Andy McCarthy, 1:50; $5.34), a Perfect Sting gelding out of champion mare Pure Country, scored in the first Kentucky Wildcat division of the night while also providing Andy McCarthy the 4,000th victory of his career in North America. La Mancha (Tim Tetrick, 1:52 3/5; $24.78), a Walner filly out of world champion Manchego, kicked off a pocket trip to take the second division of the Kentucky Golden Rod for sophomore trotting fillies and Benny B Hill (Dexter Dunn, 1:49 2/5; $2.20), a Captaintreacherous gelding out of Breeders Crown winner Peaky Sneaky, scored in the closing Kentucky Golden Rod division for sophomore pacing males.

Live harness racing at The Red Mile resumes on Monday (Aug. 31) with a 14-race card headlined by the $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series third preliminary for 3-year-old pacing fillies and the $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series third preliminary for 3-year-old trotting colts and geldings. First-race post time is 1 p.m. (EDT).

For more information on the 2026 live harness racing season, visit The Red Mile website (https://www.redmileracing.com).

--press release (Red Mile)--