Friday afternoon's much-anticipated first meeting between Karl and T C I in the second of five divisions of the International Stallion Stakes for 2-year-old male trotters at The Red Mile lived up to the hype and then some, with T C I getting up in the last stride from the pocket to win in a life's-best 1:51 4/5. David Miller had T C I on the engine at the 28 4/5 quarter in the $67,800 race, but Yannick Gingras already had Karl out and rolling from third and took over the top spot past that fraction. Karl then hit the half in 56 4/5 and the three-quarters in 1:24 4/5, setting up a mad dash for the finish. Miller swung T C I out and advanced towards Karl, and although Karl did put in some steps inside the final eighth, he was game and trotting hard, too. The two colts hit the wire together, and after a lengthy examination, the photo revealed that T C I had scored by a nose over Karl, with Southwind Metric (Ake Svanstedt) back in third. "We were going pretty easy fractions. It was going to be a sprint," Miller remarked post-race. "My horse, he felt great, and I moved him over. Halfway through the stretch I pulled his plugs, and he gave a little surge. He likes to put his nose in front." A Cantab Hall colt bred by Concord Stud Farm, T C I is trained by Ron Burke for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC., Hatfield Stables, Knox Services Inc. and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. The $150,000 buy at the 2022 Standardbred Horse Sale has ten wins and a second from 11 appearances, has banked $1,081,370 and paid $4.16 to win as the even-money second choice. 27-1 shot Mr. Bluebird (Svanstedt) started the day with a bang by taking his $67,800 flight in 1:53 1/5. Hankins Hanover (D. Miller) cut fractions of 27 4/5, 57 and 1:26 1/5, but Mr. Bluebird moved up first-over out of third on the final bend, wore down and went by Hankins Hanover in the upper part of the stretch, and went on to win by a length and a quarter over pocket-sitter Wild Ticket (Brian Sears). Hankins Hanover, the 6-5 favorite, had to settle for third. "I didn't know what to expect, truthfully. In Florida Ake said this was his best colt. Then when we came north, the horse was terrible. He just wasn't good and then he started to get better," said winning co-owner Jeff Gural. "Last week he raced better and was third, so I figured maybe. Ake is pretty smart, and he doesn't miss stuff like that. Here we are." Trainer Svanstedt also co-owns Mr. Bluebird, a colt from the first crop of Six Pack, with Gural's Little E LLC. and Torbjorn Swahn Inc. Mr. Bluebird, who was bred by Daryl Miller and sold for $95,000 at last year's Standardbred Horse Sale, made his second trip to the winner's circle from seven starts, has put away $56,444 and returned $56.76 to win. Svanstedt also won the third $68,800 split with Bryant Bros S in 1:54 2/5. He trotted out of the pocket to take the lead away from Bright Star (Todd McCarthy) past the 28 1/5 opening quarter and then backed down the half to 57 1/5 and the three-quarters to 1:27. Ordained (Tim Tetrick), who lost his cover and wound up first-over on the final turn, had dead-aim at Bryant Bros S through the lane and did gain to the wire, but Bryant Bros S held on by a head in the dash to the finish. Flight Landing (Andy McCarthy) collected third. "He's a big horse. When he came over from Sweden, we bought him in Sweden, he was kind of skinny. He grew quite a bit, but it's taking time. He's not ready yet 100 percent, I don't think," stated Perry Soderberg, who owns Bryant Bros S through his Soderberg Bloodstock. "It's going to be the Kindergarten and possibly the Valley Victory (for the rest of the season) if he's still doing well. I think he's going to be very good next year if we're lucky." Bryant Bros S, a Varenne colt bred by Bros Stables and Albertus Mollema, broke his maiden in his seventh chance and has now earned $70,805. He paid $6.42 to win as the 2-1 second choice. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Security Protected (Tetrick) rebounded off a parked-out journey and seventh-place result in the Mohawk Million to capture the fourth $67,800 clash in a life's-best 1:52 4/5. Positioned third at the 28 2/5 opening quarter, Tetrick hustled Security Protected to the engine around Show Me (Andy Miller) nearing the 56-second half-mile. Security Protected kept the tempo easy to three-quarters in 1:25 2/5 and a 27 2/5 final kicker got him to the wire three lengths ahead of Show Me. Winter Soldier (A. McCarthy) stalled out on the final bend in the first-over slot and ended up third. "We took a shot up in Canada, and he got parked on the outside there," said winning trainer Marcus Melander. "It was just a tough trip for him, but other than that, he's been racing great all year. "He's got the Breeders Crown eliminations in two weeks, so that's the plan." The victorious Melander trainee is owned by breeder Order By Stable in partnership with Howard Taylor and Brad Grant. Security Protected, a Father Patrick colt, has a record of 4-2-1 from eight outings, pushed his earnings to $243,330 and returned $7.32 to win as the 5-2 second choice. In the last $68,800 duel, Pick Pocket (Anthony MacDonald) was on the front at the 28 second opening quarter, then gave way to sit in the pocket behind Mars Hill (T. McCarthy) en route to the 56 1/5 half. Mars Hill backed down three-quarters to just 1:25 1/5 but was overtaken in the lane by a first-over Situationship (Svanstedt). That one wouldn't seal the deal either, though, as Pick Pocket tipped out and had the most trot late, getting up by a neck for the 1:53 1/5 decision. Situationship and Mars Hill completed the top three. Eric Patalan trains Pick Pocket, a colt by Walner owned by Thestable Pick Pocket Group and Hutchison Harness LLC. He is a four-time victor from ten efforts, has stashed away $155,860 and paid $22.94 to win as a 10-1 offering.