Emerald Highlands Farm's homebred Blazin Britches bounced back from a disappointing elimination effort and held off Caviart Ally in a gutsy performance over a sloppy track to win the $500,000 Breeders Crown for three-year-old filly pacers on Friday at Hoosier Park.
Idyllic Beach (Yannick Gingras) fired to the lead from post seven with even-money favourite Agent Q (David Miller) rushing up from midfield into the first turn and clearing by the quarter in :27 seconds. However, Trace Tetrick made the winning move on the way to the :56 half-mile mark as inside starter Blazin Britches swept from third to first. Caviart Ally (Andrew McCarthy) applied pressure first-up from fourth as they raced by three-quarters in 1:24.2, but Blazin Britches persevered for the half-length victory over that rival in 1:52.1. Idyllic Beach closed outside to secure third-place ahead of the pylon-hugging Agent Q.
"I just wanted to see how it played off the gate," said Tetrick of his strategy that resulted in a second Breeders Crown win for the Hoosier-based reinsman. "I wanted to sit close, maybe move back to the front and get a good trip. When it played out like it did, I thought it was the right move to make and it worked out in the end.
"I was just waiting for the wire, you know, because it's a long stretch. Tonight, it's a little tiring on the horses, but she's had a lot of experience on this track and she tries hard every week."
A one-time starter at age two, the Rock N Roll Heaven-Soggy Britches filly has won 11 of her 15 sophomore starts while banking $540,424 under the care of trainer Brian Brown, also a two-time Crown winner.
A consistent filly all season long until the Glen Garnsey at The Red Mile, where she was rough-gaited in sloppy conditions, and a seventh-place finish in her Breeders Crown elimination, Brown credited the recent turnaround to his team, including groom Kim Carothers, blacksmith Eric Thomas and veterinarian John Riker.
"This filly didn't race good last week, wasn't sound. John found some things and we had to switch from the flipflops of last week to just aluminums today because the track was wet. I think that helped her," explained Brown. "I think the flipflops made her more sound, but I don't think she travelled as well in them. She really wasn't good last week -- up in the bit, not controllable. She relaxed yesterday and jogged like she used to, paced good jogging and today really relaxed again. Trace said she drove with two fingers. Just an incredible turnaround. All those people are responsible for that and, of course, the job Trace does, he always does a bang up job."
Both Tetrick and Brown scored their first Breeders Crown wins in 2015 with Indiana champions -- the former with Freaky Feet Pete (Three-Year-Old Colt Pace) and the latter with Colors A Virgin (Mares Pace).
Blazin Britches was one of three fillies sent off at odds of 5-1 and paid $12.20 to win.
More updates on Friday's championships will be posted in the 2017 Breeders Crown News Centre.