Nuncio wins Kentucky Futurity

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) Nuncio won the 122nd Kentucky Futurity for 3-year-old trotters Sunday at The Red Mile, beating Father Patrick by 1 1/4 lengths in the second leg of the Trotting Triple Crown.

Driven by John Campbell and trained by Jimmy Takter, Nuncio finished in 1:51.3 in the $435,000 race. Campbell drove his seventh winner in the race.

Nuncio finished second behind stablemate Trixton in the first leg of the Triple Crown, the Hambletonian Stakes on Aug. 2 at the Meadowlands. The third jewel, the Yonkers Trot, is Oct. 25 at Yonkers Raceway.

''Nuncio has been chasing Father Patrick all year,'' Takter said. ''He has the right attitude and he's a fighter and he sure deserved this win. Patrick can leave very hard too, but Nuncio just raced fantastic, so I expected them to be fighting this race.''

Owned by Stefan Melander's Stall TZ Inc., Nuncio increased his lifetime earnings to $1.48 million.

Il Sogno Dream was third, 5 1/4 lengths behind Nuncio.

Takter's Shake It Cerry, driven by Ron Pierce, won the $224,000 Kentucky Filly Futurity for 3-year-old female trotters. She beat Vanity Matters by 4 1/2 lengths, finishing in 1:52.2.