Red Mile: Rumble And Sway overpowers Kentucky Championship Series competition

Rumble And Sway uncorked a menacing bid off a helmet to collar his rivals for a 1:51 1/5 victory in the $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series third preliminary for 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings on Sunday night (Aug. 23) at The Red Mile.

Leaving from post two, driver Scott Zeron took back to fourth with Rumble And Sway while 6-5 favorite Seine (driven by David Miller) pushed to lead the quintet by the quarter in 28 seconds. Seine cruised to a 56 1/5 half but soon faced a first-up challenge from 7-5 shot Gobstopper (Tim Tetrick) to the last turn with Zeron perching Rumble And Sway onto cover second-over. Gobstopper marched to match strides with Seine by three-quarters in 1:24 3/5 and edged to a narrow lead in the stretch while Zeron swung Rumble And Sway three wide. Once straightening, Rumble And Sway built steam and swept over the top of the competition to pull away for a 1 1/4 length win with Gobstopper holding second. Midwind Buxton (Todd McCarthy) skimmed the pylons for third and Seine tired to fourth.

Brett Pelling trains Rumble And Sway, a gelding by Sweet Lou-Apple Of My Pie, for owners Pelling Racing LLC., David Van Dusen, Canamerica Capital Corp. and Pryde & Wienick Racing. The gelding, who debuted with a win in the Golden Rod Series and then stepped up for a runner-up finish in the Commonwealth Series, collected his second win from three starts and has now banked $55,000. He paid $8.04 to win.

► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter

Sunday's 14-race card also featured a pair of $30,000 Kentucky Commonwealth Series divisions for 2-year-old pacing males. The faster division, a 1:50 2/5 mile, went the way of a dead-heat between Night Agent (Andy McCarthy), who brushed to set the pace past the quarter, and pocket-popping Just Perfect Stuff (Joey Putnam). Dog Dare You (Dexter Dunn) pushed first-up through the last turn but chased in third, beaten 4 1/4 lengths. Joe Holloway trains Night Agent, a Captaintreacherous colt out of world champion Shebestingin, and Joe Putnam trains Just Perfect Stuff, a Perfect Sting gelding out of the Art Major mare Sand Artist. Night Agent paid $2.10 to win and Just Perfect Stuff returned $3.42. Blazin Lou (Tim Tetrick) won the other Kentucky Commonwealth Series division with a front-stepping 1:51 1/5 effort and paid $4.14 to win.

Live harness racing at The Red Mile resumes on Monday (Aug. 24) with a 14-race card headlined by the $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series third preliminary for 2-year-old trotting males. The card also features a $35,000 division of Kentucky Sire Stakes for 4-year-old pacing males and a $35,000 division of Kentucky Sire Stakes for 4-year-old pacing mares, the latter of which will be contested as a non-wagering race prior to the pari-mutuel card. 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)--