The Rainmaker and driver Trace Tetrick surprised a field of 10 in the featured $24,000 Fillies & Mares Open Pace at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Friday

.

Just as the duo crossed the wire, bad weather set in and a heavy rain shower commenced across the track. Despite the weather conditions, The Rainmaker was able to split rivals late in the stretch to win by a head in 1:52.3, a season’s best effort.

Leaving from post four, Tetrick and the eight-year-old mare settled along the rail in fourth as the bettors' second choice, Hoponit and Josh Sutton, rallied to the lead. Hoponit led the field through a blistering opening quarter of :26.1 before they were pressed by Red S and driver Ricky Macomber Jr., who found the front at the half-mile mark in :55.1.

Keene Supreme was the first to reach Macomber’s wheel and posed a threat first over on the outside as the field headed into the last turn. In the stretch, Sutton pulled Hoponit from the pocket to re-take the lead. Hoponit kept digging in gamely and eventually took control of the race, only to find another battle brewing as The Rainmaker found racing room late. The Rainmaker crossed the wire in front of her rivals while holding off a hard-charging C R Hope, who benefitted from a second over trip from driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. Hoponit held on gamely to finish third. The Rainmaker paid $14.00 to win.

“This mare can be a little aggressive so I knew I wanted to take her off the gate easy,” Tetrick said of his drive. “I just wanted to let things work out and hopefully get a good trip on the end of it. That was a really good finish with three mares across the track, but I was really happy with the way this mare dug in and fought to the wire tonight.”

Owned by Charles E. Stein of Cortland, Ohio, The Rainmaker surpassed the $170,000 mark in career earnings. The daughter of Space Shuttle-Ragamuffin Hanover now has 14 career wins and second for the year under the conditioning of Jim Arledge Jr.

(Hoosier Park)