Brandon Blvd places unblemished record on the line at Red Mile

On Tuesday (Aug. 26), Brandon Blvd will line up against six freshman male pacers in the $80,000 fourth leg of the Kentucky Championship Series at the Red Mile with perfection in balance for his young career. The 14-race card shines the spotlight on 2-year-old male pacers with two $30,000 divisions of the Kentucky Commonwealth Series, three $15,000 divisions of the Kentucky Golden Rod Series, and two $10,000 divisions of the Kentucky Wildcat Series.

Tim Tetrick will once again be in the bike as Brandon Blvd faces the starter for the fifth time in his career for trainer/co-owner Andrew Harris. The son of Downbytheseaside-Alexis Faith is 6-5 on the morning line and will start from post position five.

The regally-bred colt has been the epitome of class. He won on the front end in his career debut at Harrah’s Philadelphia last month and scored by a neck at odds of 17-1 in his first trip to Lexington. In his second journey over the red clay, Brandon Blvd paced more than a full second swifter than his closest rival and stopped the clock in a lifetime best 1:49.3.

In his last engagement, the colt was closer to pace and held off a :25.4 final closing quarter from Ubrute (Yannick Gingras) to grace the winner’s circle.

Bred by Crawford Farms, Brandon Blvd is the second foal out of the excellent race mare Alexis Faith (American Ideal, $586,546). Known as Wayne Harvey prior to his purchase for $425,000 at last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, the colt now belongs to his trainer, William Pollock and Bruce Areman.

Brandon Blvd hails from one of the best families in the sport. His dam is a half-sister to 2021 Horse of the Year Test Of Faith, and her first foal, Karma (Tall Dark Stranger), has banked $136,365.

The colt has earned $125,500 in purse money and his speed badge is nearly three seconds faster than the horses he will be facing.

The Ron Burke-trained Ubrute, mentioned previously, is 2-1 on the morning line with Gingras at the controls from post position four.

The son of Tall Dark Stranger-Warrawee Ubeaut also possesses his own flashy pedigree as his dam shares a 1:48.3 world record with Looksgoodinloulou, which she established in 2018 for the same connections over this very surface.

Bred by Burke Racing Stable, Crawford Farms Racing, J&T Silva-Purnel & Libby, and Phillip Collura, Ubrute’s ownership group consists of those four entities minus Crawford Farms Racing while inserting Hatfield Stables.

The colt has yet to break his maiden from three starts but has improved in each trip.

Ubrute has collected $29,600 in purses.