The opening round of Indiana Sires Stakes highlighted the Wednesday, May 20 program at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino and included four $20,000 divisions for three-year-old trotting fillies.
Each filly was aiming to earn a spot in the first of five $75,000 Indiana Sires Stakes finals slated for May 30 at Hoosier Park.
Indiana’s two-year-old trotting filly of the year, Churita, looked every the bit the part of a 2-5 favourite as she used a gate-to-wire effort to score her first victory of the season in 1:56.3. Driven by her regular pilot Trace Tetrick, Churita left aggressively from post nine to dictate fractions of :27.4, :58, and 1:27.1 before cruising home to a three length victory.
Trained by Matt Rheinheimer, Churita has now won nine of 11 lifetime starts and sports a career bankroll of $273,225. The daughter of Airzoom Lindy-Stonebridge Volare captured the first seasonal outing of her sophomore campaign for owner Jackie Porter.
In the opening round of the stakes action, Swans Grace and Ed Hensley pulled a slight 7-1 upset to score in 1:57.3. The victory was the first of the season and a lifetime-best performance for the daughter of Swan For All-Red Rose Kosmos.
Swans Grace was uninvolved in the early stages of the race while Herbies Wildflower and After All battled for early position through first half fractions of :27.4 and :58. Reigningblackswan and LeWayne Miller were parked for much of the mile, but reached the leader’s wheel at the three-quarter clocking in 1:28.3. With much of the damage being done on the front, Hensley gave Swans Grace the green light and the filly used a :28.2 final quarter to hold off a hard-charging Big Wheel and Tom Luther.
Trained by Bobby Brower, Swans Grace has now earned $38,756 lifetime for her owners and breeders, Jerry Graham and Mystical Marker Farms.
Dirty Secret and Jay Cross followed suit in the next split of the stakes action to score in 1:56.3 at odds of 7-1. The daughter of Justice Hall-Classic Fight recorded a new lifetime mark while earning her the third consecutive victory at Hoosier Park.
Leaving from post three, Dirty Secret settled along the rail in fifth while Hannelore Hanover and Ricky Macomber Jr. were the first to get a call through the opening panel in :27.4. Charlie Conrad had La Guida Pleasure pointed to the front and the duo took command just past the half in :58.1. J S Maple and Sam Widger, sent off as the 1-2 favourites, were grinding it out first over and were engaging the leaders approaching the final turn. As the field turned for home, the race appeared to be wide open, but Dirty Secret was just beginning to find her best strides. Using a :28.4 final quarter, Dirty Secret dug in gamely to finish a head in front of Hannelore Hanover.
Trained by Susan Askren, the three-year-old filly notched her third victory from four seasonal outings. Dirty Secret has now earned $35,589 lifetime for owners Susan Askren and Richard Keaton.
In the final division, Golden Big Stick and Brad Hanners rallied gamely to score in 1:57.4. It was the first win of the season for the daughter of Big Stick Lindy-Golda Plumsted and she also recorded a new lifetime mark.
Using her customary late-charging tactics, Golden Big Stick sat patiently along the rail in seventh as Townline Momma and Sam Widger led through intervals of :27.4, :59, and 1:28.3. As the field turned for home, Golden Big Stick had her work cut out for her, but she dug in gamely to reach the wire first in the final strides of the mile.
Trained by Mike Hollenback, who co-owns the filly with William Cantrell, Golden Big Stick has now won four of 13 outings in her career while bankrolling $182,120 lifetime.
Indiana Sires Stakes continue at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Thursday, May 21 with four $20,000 divisions for three-year-old trotting colts. Live racing at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino will follow a Tuesday through Saturday live racing schedule with a daily post time of 5:15 p.m.
(With files from Hoosier Park)