Red Mile: Phaetosive heads victorious sophomore filly trotters in Bluegrass events

Phaetosive scored her fourth straight win thanks to a 1:51 3/5 performance in the third and final Bluegrass division for 3-year-old filly trotters on Sunday afternoon at The Red Mile.

Driven by trainer Trond Smedshammer in the $68,000 contest, Phaetosive sat third on the rail as What A Knockout (Brian Sears) clicked off fractions of 28 4/5 and 56 1/5, then angled out first-over midway through the final turn. What A Knockout was still in front at the 1:24 1/5 three-quarters, but Phaetosive overhauled her in upper stretch and went on to win by a length and a half. Lily Stride (Tim Tetrick) found room up the inside from the pocket and was second, with Seviyorum (Andy Miller) third from second-over.

The victorious daughter of Explosive Matter is owned by Purple Haze Stables LLC. Phaetosive is now a 11-time winner in her career, and she has put away $822,617. The 1-9 favorite, Phaetosive returned $2.10 across-the-board.

Back in the opening $69,000 flight, Supergirl Riley (Marcus Miller) popped pocket to take over command heading to the 56-second half-mile marker. From there, she would go on to reach three-quarters in 1:24 3/5, and a 27 4/5 final kicker got her to the finish line 3 3/4 lengths to the good in a 1:52 2/5 mile. Live Laugh Love (David Miller) was a first-up second, and Fury Road (Ake Svanstedt) took third.

Erv Miller trains Supergirl Riley, by Muscle Mass, for owners Paymaq Racing, George Golemes, and Harvey Eisman. She scored her ninth lifetime victory, and she pushed her bankroll to $375,763. She was the 4-5 choice and paid $3.80 to win.

The middle $69,000 section saw S M S Princess (Svanstedt) chop out stations of 28, 55 2/5, and 1:23 4/5, but Hey Blondie (Andrew McCarthy) rallied strongly after a third-over trip and was up to win by three-parts of a length in 1:51 1/5. Bella Glos (Yannick Gingras) was second and Pat Matters (Matt Kakaley) finished third.

A filly by Cantab Hall, Hey Blondie is trained by Chuck Sylvester for the ownership group of Steve Jones, Mary Kinsey Arnold, Paul Bordogna, and David McDuffee. She made her eighth appearance in the winner's circle, and she has now earned $473,935. The 3-1 third choice, Hey Blondie returned $8.20 to win.