Hunterton-raised and sold Isabella Bi continued her successful sophomore campaign with an impressive victory in a division of the John Simpson Sr. Memorial Stakes at Pocono Downs on October 26. The three-year-old daughter of Tactical Landing–Call Me Bi IT dominated from start to finish, cruising to a 5¼-length victory in 1:53.1. With Åke Svanstedt handling both the driving and training duties, Isabella Bi maintained control throughout the mile, comfortably defeating Shemightbetheone and Be Mine Hanover. The victory follows her recent Bluegrass Stakes triumph at The Red Mile, adding another stakes success to her growing résumé. Raised at Hunterton Farm and sold through Hunterton Sales Agency for $240,000 at the 2024 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, Isabella Bi is owned by Åke Svanstedt LLC, Joe Sbrocco & JAF Racing, Little E LLC and Lars Olsson.  Congratulations to Isabella Bi and her connections on another outstanding performance!

Hunterton-born and raised Big Shoes delivered a winning stretch rally on October 25, taking a $50,000 USD Kentucky Sire Stakes division for four-year-old male trotters at Cumberland Run. Yannick Gingras guided the Ron Burke trainee from off the pace to a one-length victory in 1:54. The son of Greenshoe–Witty Girl was bred by Knox Services Inc. and competes for Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and Knox Services Inc. Big Shoes collected $25,000 USD for the victory, bringing his lifetime earnings to $477,172 USD. The win was the 15th of his career. Congratulations to everyone behind this Hunterton graduate!

Hunterton-sold Captain Arturovico returned to the winner’s circle on October 25, capturing a $50,000 USD Kentucky Sire Stakes division for four-year-old male pacers at Cumberland Run. With Dexter Dunn driving for trainer Ron Burke, Captain Arturovico took command before the half and held off Crack Shot by three-quarters of a length in 1:49.1. The son of Captaintreacherous–Tilikum was bred by Randy M Zane and races for Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Larry Karr and Phil Collura. The victory was his ninth of the season and 21st lifetime, increasing his career earnings to $654,719 USD. Congratulations to his connections on another stakes success!

Columbus, OH — Hambletonian Oaks champion and Hunterton-born and raised Nezuko Kamado S became just the 12th filly in harness racing history to win the Breeders Crown in the same year as she lowered her own track record with a 1:51.1 effort to take the $664,500 Grade 1 final for 3-year-old trotting fillies on Saturday night (Oct. 24) at Scioto Downs. Leaving from post 4, driver Scott Zeron eased Nezuko Kamado S into a seat fifth as last year’s Breeders Crown 2-Year-Old Filly Trot champ Storybook Love (driven by Todd Ratchford) thrusted toward the front from the pylon post. Elimination winner She’s Moni (Yannick Gingras) loomed forward rounding the first turn and pushed past Storybook Love after a :26.3 first quarter to take the lead before tapping the brakes slightly on the approach to a :54.4 half. Supplemental entrant Little Road (Brady Brown), who also won an elimination, angled off the pylons from fourth and progressed uncovered up the rim with Nezuko Kamado S in tow to the backstretch. Little Road stalled in her bid coming to three-quarters in 1:22.4, at which point Zeron nudged his charge three-wide and gathered speed rounding for home. Nezuko Kamado S kept grinding in the stretch and overhauled her peers reaching the final sixteenth to then pull away for a 1-1/2-length win. Busy Miss Lissy S (Åke Svanstedt) stormed widest of all from last for second with Victorianas Secret (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) chasing in the open stretch for third and She’s Moni left in fourth. “I wanted to give her the best opportunity to show if she could or couldn’t (win),” said Zeron, who scored his first Grade 1 win with Nezuko Kamado S since an injury sidelined him from competing in the Hambletonian Oaks on Aug. 8. “I believed she could — obviously first-up in the finals is different than the elims, and obviously coming first-up on She’s Moni is a tougher task. Second-over was really good. Having to go three-wide on the last turn, I had my reservations about that. I was more concerned about my patience because I know she’s talented enough and she has enough of lungs to really carry her speed, but at the same time I don’t want to tip her over in the last turn trying to get overanxious and make up the ground I’m losing.” Nezuko Kamado S, entering the Breeders Crown from a break in stride when racing off the speed in the Kentucky Filly Futurity in early October, rebounded last week in the eliminations when she lowered the track record for 3-year-old trotting fillies with a 1:51.2 mile, which she bested with her win in the final. “I guess we could say there’s a few blunders along the way just recently, but she came into form obviously again in the eliminations and she delivered like the champion she is,” Zeron also said. “She’s a Hambletonian Oaks champion so she’s deserving of (today’s win) and I’m honestly just happy I had the opportunity to do it. At the same time, she trotted so good in that last turn for me, and I was praying she would (win) and she did, and obviously we straightened down the lane and she’s a champion.” Zeron, teaming with trainer Marcus Melander on Friday for another Breeders Crown win with Birr Castle in the 2-Year-Old Filly Trot, won for the first time in the 3-Year-Old Filly Trot. Melander also won for the first time in the event to give himself three trophies to this point. “But Super Chapter lost at 3-5 (in the Open Trot) so that’s what’s going to bother me tomorrow,” Melander said, “but of course I’m very happy. This is our third final (this year). She’s been great all year. She had a little bumps in Kentucky — she got too far off, and it’s hard at The Red Mile because all of them go so fast; if you are a little too far back it’s hard to catch them. Obviously she was great in the elimination last week, got a great trip today. Fantastic filly.” A homebred for Anders Strom’s Courant Inc., Nezuko Kamado S won her eighth race from 12 starts this season and her 14th race from 23 starts in her career, amassing $1.47 million in earnings. The filly by Chapter Seven -Zefira Kronos IT became the first filly to double in the Hambletonian Oaks and Breeders Crown since Bella Bellini in 2021. Sent the 7-5 favorite, she paid $4.80 to win.

Hunterton-raised and sold Inverness Ave added another stakes victory to his resume on October 23, winning a $50,000 USD Circle City division for three-year-old male trotters at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. Kevin Lambright drove the son of Helpisontheway–Arvika to victory in 1:52.3 for trainer Ernie Gaskin. Bred by The Bay’s Stable LLC, Polger Holdings LLC and Little E LLC, Inverness Ave increased his lifetime earnings to $291,585 USD. Congratulations to his connections on another successful night at Hoosier Park!

Hunterton-born and raised Deuce Pop and Hunterton-raised and sold Isotta Bi each earned a Kentucky Sire Stakes victory at Cumberland Run on October 20, winning their respective $40,000 USD preliminary divisions for three-year-old trotters. Deuce Pop stopped the clock in 1:52.2 with Todd McCarthy driving for trainer Ron Burke. The son of Tactical Landing–Atlantic Crest was bred by Atlantic Trot Inc. and races for Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Knox Services Inc. and Phil Collura. Isotta Bi captured her division in 1:55.2 with Andy Miller aboard for owner and trainer Peter Alagna. The daughter of Gimpanzee–Devine Equine was bred by M Biasuzzi Stable Inc. Congratulations to the breeders, owners, trainers, drivers and caretakers behind both stakes winners!

Columbus, OH – Hunterton born Hope Hill jogged to victory in the first of two $25,000 Breeders Crown eliminations for 3-year-old pacing fillies on Saturday (Oct. 17) at Eldorado Scioto Downs. The daughter of Papi Rob Hanover was guided by Dexter Dunn for trainer Petter Engblom to her eighth triumph of the season and her third straight victory, stopping the timer in 1:50 as the 1-2 choice. Whoomp, who endured a first-up journey, held on to be a game second for John DeLong at 9-2, with 12-1 Darlin’s Angel (Lauren Tritton) garnering third place honors, with 14-1 A Clean Deal (Doug McNair) grabbing fourth. Darlin’s Angel grabbed the lead as the wings of the gate folded, but Dunn hustled Hope Hill quickly out of the pocket to take command going to the :26.4 opening panel. Whoomp then came first up heading into the second turn with a :28.2 second panel that stopped the half mile timer in :55.1, while Darlin’s Angel continued to save ground on the rail in third. Around the final turn positions remained unchanged as the field passed the 1:23.1 three-quarters, with Hope Hill easily holding off her rivals by one length at the wire. Tom Hill of Cabus, Preston, UK owns the homebred bay filly who upped her career earnings to $517,932 and her seasonal earnings to $408,742. She came into this elimination fresh off victories in the $212,000 Garnsey Memorial and $76,000 Bluegrass at Lexington, and now has 11 victories in 23 career starts, with four seconds and five thirds.

Columbus, OH — Hambletonian Oaks winner Hunterton Raised & Sold Nezuko Kamado S persisted with a first-over grind and staved off late pursuers to take the first of three $25,000 Grade 1 Breeders Crown eliminations for 3-year-old trotting fillies in a track-record 1:51.2 mile on Saturday night (Oct. 17) at Eldorado Scioto Downs. Little Road and She’s Moni won the other eliminations. Driver Scott Zeron eased Nezuko Kamado S out of post 3 into fourth behind a three-wide brawl for the lead between Madam Cheval (driven by Tim Tetrick), Southwind Chaska (Dexter Dunn) and Isabella Bi (Åke Svanstedt). Isabella Bi took back to third and Southwind Chaska yielded into the pocket, leaving Madam Cheval to cut a :27.1 first quarter and then a :55.2 half with no challengers looming. Zeron angled Nezuko Kamado S off the pylons into the backstretch and steadily advanced on Madam Cheval heading to three-quarters in 1:23.1 before thrusting to the lead upon straightening for the finish. Nezuko Kamado S extended for the finish and clinched the win by a nose as Custom (Jason Bartlett) bolted from last down the center of the track to settle for second. Southwind Chaska held the last berth into the final in third. “I thought I’d be first up no matter how I shook that race,” Scott Zeron said after the race, “and I was very happy with even being first-up, just giving her every chance to win. The only thing I didn’t want to do was rush her really, really hard first two steps out of the gate. Timmy’s horse [Madam Cheval] was giving a hell of a run in the last turn, and I was still laboring off of him. And then, when his started to tire a little bit, it gave mine that second wind to just dig on by, and she felt good up there. Hats off to Jason’s horse [Custom]; she raced phenomenal from behind.” Marcus Melander trains Nezuko Kamado S for owner-breeder Courant Inc. The filly by Chapter Seven -Zefira Kronos IT has now won seven races from 11 starts this season and 13 races from 22 starts in her career, amassing $1,143,869. She paid $3.80 to win.

Hunterton-sold Redice continued her successful freshman campaign with a victory in a $40,000 USD Kentucky Sire Stakes division for two-year-old trotting fillies on October 18 at Cumberland Run. With Atlee Bender driving for trainer Erv Miller, Redice moved from fourth to take command before the half-mile mark. She held off Hotlady Volo through the stretch to win by a half-length in 1:56, with Your Grace finishing third. The daughter of Rebuff–Fuzzy Dice earned her seventh victory in 11 starts, increasing her lifetime earnings to $323,600 USD . The win followed her Indiana Sire Stakes Super Final triumph at Hoosier Park earlier in October. Bred by Kjell Magne Andersen, Lucas Wallin and Pieter Delis, Redice is owned by Ervin Miller Stables, Anthony Lombardi and Stepbystep Racing.