Bluebird Affection and Tony Kerwood found the racing room they needed late to score their first career win at Running Aces Sunday, Aug. 28. The duo stopped the timer in 1:59.0 for the maiden victory.
Bluebird Affection rallied home for Tony Kerwood to break her maiden at Running Aces Sunday, Aug. 28.
Bluebird Affection got away second as One Step Away and Lemoyne Svendsen cut fractions of :29.1 and :59.0. Heading into the final turn, the field began to bunch up and move three wide leaving Bluebird Affection with little options but to stay tucked in behind the early leader.
Once Fox Valley Sidecar and Rick Magee cleared on the outside, Bluebird Affection found some room to move out behind Checks Pay Bills and Brady Jenson. In the stretch, Kerwood pulled Bluebird Affection out from behind horses to the extreme outside and rallied home for the win by one length over Fox Valley Sidecar. Checks Pay Bills finished third.
Bluebird Affection paid $5.20 for the win. The two-year-old daughter of Check Six is owned by Sal Wenceslao of California and trained by Bob Johnson, who was in the winner’s circle to intercept the freshman pacer. Daryl Miller bred the filly, who was making her fourth career start.
Bluebird Affection is part of the first crop by Check Six and was the second highest seller last year as a yearling. She brought $50,000 through the sales ring at the Hoosier Classic Yearling Sale. She is part of the 100 percent producing family out of the mare Love You Always, who is the dam of Peter Dalt (1:51.1, $164,000), Bluebird Love (1:53.0, $44,000) and PBR Street Gang (1:51.3, $75,000). The family has a yearling colt to sell this fall named Bluebird Time by Lost in Time and a weanling named Bluebird Dynasty, a colt by JK Endofanera.
Johnson, who has more than 2,600 training wins, is based out of California but spent several summers at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. He’s best known for his trotter, Claudius Augustus, an Open Trotter who won races from coast to coast, including Hoosier Park. The Angus Hall stallion stood a few years in California and Minnesota following his racing career.