09/07/2026
Kountry Legacy Lunges to Kentucky Championship Series Win
By Ray Cotolo, for The Red Mile
(Amanda Stephens photo)
LEXINGTON, Ky.— Indiana invader Kountry Legacy popped when shipping for the $80,000 final leg of the Kentucky Championship Series for 2-year-old pacing fillies on Sunday night (Sept. 6) at The Red Mile and snatched victory in a 1:51.1 effort.
Starting from the pylon post, Kountry Legacy (driven by Trace Tetrick) pushed to protect position as Goodwalkspoiled (Kyle Husted) brushed forward for the lead through a :27.3 first quarter. Goodwalkspoiled strolled up the backstretch as Banana Beach (Josert Fonseca), parked from the start when floating out of post 9, progress uncovered up the rim with Seaside Ubeaut (Dexter Dunn) slotting into a second-over spot and Jk Simcha (Marvin Luna) into a third-over seat approaching a :56.1 half. Banana Beach began to waver around the last turn and began to retreat at three-quarters in 1:24.2, giving Kountry Legacy room to angle out of the pocket. Once given clear sailing, Kountry Legacy quickened smoothly and slid by Goodwalkspoiled while staving off flanking late pursuers with a :26.2 final quarter to win by two lengths at the beam. Jk Simcha rallied for second over Seaside Ubeaut while Dame Frances (Atlee Bender) skimmed the pylons for fourth.
Jeff Cullipher trains Kountry Legacy, a filly by Capt Midnight out of world champion mare Shartin N, and co-owns her with Pollack Racing LLC. The filly won her fourth race from seven starts this season, has now banked $142,296 in her career, and paid $7.10 to win.
Baby Puppy (Atlee Bender) ripped off a forward stalking trip to take the lone $30,000 dash of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series for freshman pacing fillies with a 1:51.3 effort later in the card. Bender sent the Erv Miller pupil to the fore through a :28.2 first quarter but found himself shuffled to third when Haven (Dexter Dunn) and then Holy (David Miller) brushed towards the top heading to a :55.3 half. After three-quarters in 1:24, Bender had ample room to angle Baby Puppy to the center of the track and swooped to a length win over rallying stablemate Ryan Station (Marcus Miller). The Bulldog Hanover-American Cheer filly races for owners Ervin Miller Stable Inc., Stepbystep Racing and Bryn Campbell, and she paid $5.62 to win.
The Sunday card also featured a pair of $15,000 Kentucky Golden Rod Series divisions with Bordeaux Station (Marcus Miller) taking top honors with a pillar-to-post 1:51.1 victory by 2-1/2 lengths over pocket-sitter Odds On Momma (Dexter Dunn). Rob Rittoff trains the Sweet Lou-Bottle N Cork filly who paid $2.46 to win. Brett Pelling pupil Jk Alwaysbpositive (David Miller) converted a pocket trip to win by 4-1/4 lengths in the other division in a 1:51.4 mile and paid $2.68 to win.
Live harness racing at The Red Mile resumes on Monday (Sept. 7) with a 12-race card headlined by the $80,000 Kentucky Championship Series fourth preliminary for 2-year-old trotting fillies. 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).
