Champagne Problems leads Friday’s nine Bluegrass divisions

Fresh from her 1:54 win in the $305,000 Jim Doherty Memorial, Champagne Problems treks southward to The Red Mile to compete in the first of six Bluegrass divisions for 2-year-old trotting fillies on Friday (Sept. 27), a card which includes three Bluegrass dashes for 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings.

Champagne Problems, a four-time winner from seven outings with $327,504 in the bank, starts from post two in the opening trotting filly split as the 6-5 morning line chalk. Dexter Dunn stays in the bike of the Nancy Takter-trained daughter of Tactical Landing who took her 1:52.3 lifetime mark in winning the $240,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes final on Hambletonian day.

The second division of the filly trot, going as the race following, sees Royal Mission make her first start since finishing third to Champagne Problems in the Jim Doherty Memorial. Scott Zeron steers the Marcus Melander-trained Chapter Seven filly who won the $225,000 New York Sire Stakes final two starts ago and, before that, an elimination of the Peaceful Way Stakes. A full sister to Canadian Trotting Classic winners Ahundreddollarbill (2021) and Slay (2022), Royal Mission races from post four; to the left flank of even-money morning-line favorite Country Victory, who enters off a second-place finish in the Standardbred Stakes at the Delaware County Fair and picks up Yannick Gingras in the bike for trainer Melvin Schmucker.

Friday’s card features 15 races on the program. First-race post time is 1 p.m.