Amigo Volo takes out the Kentucky Futurity
Amigo Volo, by Father Patrick, proved a class above his rivals in the 128th running of the Kentucky Futurity at The Red Mile, winning by two lengths in a career best time of 1:51.
Taking advantage of an ideal inside draw, Amigo Volo held his position off the gate before handing up to the hard charging Beads and taking the trail. Travelling comfortably throughout, regular reinsman Dexter Dunn simply tipped Amigo Volo off the leader’s back when race favourite Back Of The Neck galloped outside him at the three-quarter mark and the three-year-old then trotted clear in the straight to take an easy two length win.
It was Amigo Volo’s 12th lifetime win and took his stakes earnings to more than $1.3 million.
As well as being driven by champion NZ reinsman Dexter Dunn, Amigo Volo is also trained by ex-pat kiwi Nifty Norman.
His New Zealand connections don’t stop with his trainer and driver either, with the millionaire square-gaiter’s fifth dam the 1966 NZ Trotting Free For All winner, Le Chant.
A $42,000 Lexington Select Yearling Sale purchase, Amigo Volo is out of the $600,000 plus earning Yankee Glide mare Margarita Momma, who has also left the $400,000 earning full brother to Amigo Volo, Reign Of Honor.
It was the second year in a row that the Kentucky Futurity was taken out by a son of Father Patrick, with last season’s US Trotter of the Year Greenshoe winning the race in 2019.