Red Mile: Two-year-old trotters clash in Kentucky Sire Stakes

Driver Chris Page piloted three big ticket Lexington Selected Yearling Sale (LSYS) graduates - Ontopofthehill, Crucial, and Violet Stride - to victories as Kentucky Sire Stakes action for 2-year-old trotters continued at The Red Mile on Sunday evening.

Ontopofthehill broke his maiden in the first $30,000 split for colts and geldings, turning a second-over trip into a 1:57 win for trainer Ron Burke and owner Elite Trotting. A $250,000 yearling buy, the victorious Brittany Farms-bred Muscle Hill-On The Bright Side (Cantab Hall) colt is a half-brother to Sunshine Delight (Credit Winner, 1:53 1/5, $354,847).

Page and Burke also joined forces to win a section for fillies with Crucial in 1:56 3/5. Crucial moved from second to first past the 29 2/5 opening quarter, was well-rated in the middle-half (59 2/5 and 1:28 4/5) and held sway to score by half a length. Crucial, who fetched $200,000 at the LSYS, started her career two-for-two but finished fourth in the Jim Doherty Memorial on Hambletonian Day. A daughter of Father Patrick-Jolene Jolene (Muscle Hill), Crucial was bred by Steve Stewart, Maumee River Stables, Black Creek Farm, and Martin Schmucker and is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC., W.J. Donovan, J&T Silva- Purnel & Libby, and Weaver Bruscemi LLC.

Mark Harder-trained Violet Stride gave Page the Kentucky Sire Stakes hat trick, winning her flight for the ladies on the front-end in 1:56. Purchased for $275,000, Violet Stride is a Trixton-Sterling Volo (Donato Hanover) filly owned by Emilio and Maria Rosati. It was the maiden-breaking win for the Kentuckiana Farms LLC. and Jorgen Jahre-bred Violet Stride, a half-sister to Lily Stride (Muscle Hill, 1:50 2/5, $701,858).

Driver Jimmy Takter and trainer Per Engblom also teamed up for a pair of triumphs in the Kentucky Sire Stakes dashes. Their first winner was the Muscle Hill-Stubborn Belle filly Ms Savannah Belle, who rallied strongly after a second-over journey to take a 1:55 victory. Ms Savannah Belle, a daughter of Muscle Hill-Stubborn Belle (Taurus Dream), is a homebred for Al Libfeld, and she made her first career appearance in the winner's circle.

Takter and Engblom then prevailed in a colt and gelding test with Ready For Moni in 1:54 3/5. Takter pulled pocket with his charge on the final bend, took the lead coming off the turn, and pulled away through the lane to win easily. Ready For Moni, who was grabbed at the LSYS for $220,000, is owned by John Fielding, Lindy Farms of Conn, Herb Liverman, and Bud Hatfield. Ready For Moni, a Ready Cash-Nothing But Moni (Credit Winner) colt who was bred by Moni Maker Stable, is now two-for three in the win column. The dam Nothing But Moni is out of the late and great international superstar Moni Maker.

Expectations (Mattias Melander), the fourth-place finisher in the Peter Haughton Memorial, was the other Kentucky Sire Stakes victor on the night, winning his test in 1:55 4/5 after making front and turning away a bid from Sermon (Takter) on the last turn en route to the score. Expectations, a $60,000 LSYS acquisition, was bred by Dunroven Stud, is trained by Marcus Melander, and is owned by Vicky Trotting Inc. Expectations, a Muscle Hill-Exceed Expectation (Kadabra) colt, won for the first time and is a half-brother to My MVP (Cantab Hall, 1:52, $879,804).