Selfie Queen and Twin B Joe Fresh headlined a stakes-filled Sunday afternoon (Aug. 14) at The Red Mile with wins in the second leg of the Kentucky Championship Series.
Selfie Queen stole the show in the $80,000 second leg of the Kentucky Championship Series for three-year-old trotting fillies, retaking the lead after a :28.2 opening quarter and cruising through splits of :55.4 and 1:23.3 en route to a career-best victory in 1:51.1.
The popular O'Brien Award winner, Venerable, broke stride when making a move from fourth with three-eighths to go. The others couldn't catch Selfie Queen, who remained clear on top through the stretch and won by nearly two lengths. Disclosure shot up the inside to nab the runner-up honours over early leader Bare My Soul and late-closer Date Night.
Rebounding from her miscue in the Hambletonian Oaks, Selfie Queen returned to The Red Mile where she won the 2021 Kentucky Championship Series and picked up the first win of her current campaign in rein to Dexter Dunn.
Nancy Takter trains the Muscle Hill-Lady Lakewood filly, who is approaching the $300,000 mark in career earnings, for owners Robert Leblanc of New York, David Anderson of St. Thomas, Ont., and John Fielding of Scarborough, Ont.
Selfie Queen paid $11.64 to win as the 9-2 second choice in the field that was scratched down to nine with Baptism out sick.
In the $80,000 second round of the series for freshman pacing fillies, 6-5 favourite Twin B Joe Fresh (pictured above) launched from the pocket turning for home to retake the lead and drew off by 6-1/4 lengths to a stunning 1:48.4 score, coming within one-fifth of a second of the world record for two-year-olds with :26.1 final quarter speed.
Driver Dexter Dunn and trainer Chris Ryder co-own the Roll With Joe-Fresh Breeze filly, who is now four-for-five lifetime and surpassed the $100,000 earnings mark, with Peter Trebotica of New Jersey and Barry Spak of Pennsylvania.
Strong Poison closed from off the pace to place over Caviart Marcella and Cultured, who had swept from third to first after a :28.1 opener and set middle fractions of :55 and 1:22.2 during the race.
After sweeping the Championship events, Dunn drove Tony Alagna trainee More Than Ever to a 1:52.2 career-best victory in the $30,000 second leg the Kentucky Commonwealth Series for three-year-old trotting fillies.
Driver David Miller swept a pair of $30,000 Commonwealth divisions for two-year-old pacing fillies with Jenn Bongiorno trainee Zanatta (Stay Hungry-Major Dancer) in 1:51 and Hungry For Love (Stay Hungry-Lover Of Art) in 1:51.2 for trainer Ron Burke.
A Rocknroll Hanover rookie filly Caris, the first foal out of two-time O'Brien Award winner L A Delight, scored a maiden-breaking victory in 1:51.2 by a head over favourite Sugar Britches in a $15,000 Golden Rod Series division with Yannick Gingras driving for Takter and Diamond Creek Racing.
Gingras also won with two-year-old pacing filly Ravenous (1:52.2) and three-year-old trotting fillies Saffron Girl (1:53.1) and Moni Heist (1:53.1) in the Golden Rod Series. David Miller and Soft Spot (1:52.3) took the other freshman filly pace while John MacDonald guided Blue Bayou Deo (1:52.2) to victory in the other sophomore filly trot.