Muscle Massive upsets Holiday Road

Muscle Massive, the highest-priced yearling sold at auction last year with a bid of $425,000, upset Peter Haughton Memorial winner Holiday Road in John Simpson Memorial Stakes action for 2-year-old colt trotters contested over a “sloppy” racetrack at The Red Mile on Monday night. 

 

Driven by John Campbell, Muscle Massive rallied from seventh early to win the $10,995 division in 1:59.2. Brian Sears could never get Holiday Road into the hunt on the outside and the 3-5 favorite finished sixth. 

 

Jimmy Takter trains the winning Muscle Massive for owners Brixton Medical AB, Order By Stable, Louie Camara, Al Libfeld, Sam Goldband and Marvin Katz. A son of Muscles Yankee, Muscle Massive is a full brother to the $229,000 Muscle Mass, who went undefeated in seven starts his freshman season. For Muscle Massive, the win was his second in three starts.

 

Another Simpson freshman trotting division went to Victor’s Future, the recent Kentucky Sire Stakes champion, who scored in 2:01.3. Following his win Sept. 6 in the championship event, the son of Valley Victor was sold to Joseph Muscara, but will reportedly remain in the barn of trainer Jeff Smith through the end of the year. Brad Hanners directed Victor’s Future to his fifth win in seven starts on Monday.

 

Dewayne Minor directed the third Simpson freshman trotting winner Olla Podriga, a son of Andover Hall, to a 2:01.2. victory.

 

Favorites prevailed in both $36,908 Simpson divisions for 3-year-old colt trotters. Big Bikkies, coming off a win in a Simcoe split at Mohawk, led wire to wire to score in 1:56.3. The son of Windsong’s Legacy was unraced last year at two but has now won five of his nine starts this year for trainer Noel Daley and owner Adam Victor & Son Stable.

 

Mike Lachance scored a 1:58.3 victory with Cruisealong in the second split for second-year colt trotters. The son of Cantab Hall is trained by Ron Gurfein for owners Brittany Farms, Jerry Silva, Jay Novak and Mathias Meinzinger.