From HarnessLink (Ray Cotolo, published 27 September 2025)
Driver Andy McCarthy bided his time off torching speed laid by Thai Hanover and launched into action at the right time to seize a 1:48.4 harness racing victory in the third of four dashes for the $298,500 Bluegrass 2-Year-Old Colt & Gelding Pace – a division sponsored by Brittany Farms – on Friday (Sept. 26) at The Red Mile.
McCarthy secured a seat in third out of post 7 behind Captain Apple (driven by Dexter Dunn) while Thai Hanover (Jeremy Indof) zipped to a wide lead heading to a :26.1 first quarter. Indof kept his headstrong charge rolling up the backstretch while maintaining an open lead to a :53.2 half and stayed on the muscle as the backfield began gathering speed through the final turn. Signal Caller attacked first up through three-quarters in 1:20.4 and easily collared weary Thai Hanover in the stretch while keeping 1-5 favorite Ubrute (Yannick Gingras) at bay to win by a length. Ubrute snagged second from Thai Hanover and Captain Apples finished fourth.
“[Noel’s] picked the right horses and the horses are special,” said Harvey Fried, who co-owns Signal Caller through Patricia Stable. “We’ve been very fortunate the last few years. Coming home he just has heart. Heart, heart, heart; [:]25 and change, [:]25 and change [last quarters]. He’s got it. I thought he could win – when he was sitting third, he has a tremendous kick in the last quarter. I know our guy’s going to finish. Ubrute – I mean, we caught a break; he got stuck inside. We finished well.”
Noel Daley trains Signal Caller, a Captaintreacherous-Square Dancer colt, for owners Patricia Stable, Kovach Stables, Sjoblom Racing and L A Express Stables. He won his fourth race from eight starts, has now earned $103,439 and paid $15.16 to win.
