Round five of eight of Indiana Sire Stakes for three-year-old pacing fillies served as the feature on Friday, July 25 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park with Miss Fancy Nancy and Tarshish maintaining their razor-sharp form of late in their respective divisions.

Miss Fancy Nancy left from the outside post seven in the $67,123 first division with regular pilot Trace Tetrick in the bike. Tetrick floated the 2-5 favourite into fourth in the early stages while CC Rockin Rosie (John De Long) rocketed off the wings to take control of the field through a wicked :25.4 first quarter. There was no let up in the middle half for CC Rockin Rosie, racing to the half in :53.4 before scorching to three-quarters in 1:21.2 when Miss Fancy Nancy eased off the cones from fourth.

The hot early fractions began to take their toll on CC Rockin Rosie while Miss Fancy Nancy charged to the lead midway through the lane. Pacing home in :27.3, Miss Fancy Nancy surged to victory by 2-3/4 lengths in a career best 1:50.2. Heart Song (Marcus Miller) rallied for the runner-up honours, with a gutsy CC Rockin Rosie holding for the show spot.

Miss Fancy Nancy has yet to miss the board in 2025 through eight starts and has won five of six since moving to the Tyler George barn. Owned by Tonya Nichols, Joe Sbrocco, VIP Internet Stable and Jaf Racing, the daughter of JK Endofanera-Singit Like Aretha has banked $87,011 on the season. This win was her first in Sire Stakes action.

The victory was one of five on the 14-race card for Tetrick, three of which were for the George stable.

Canttouchthese and Tarshish, who finished one-two in last fall’s Super Final, hooked up for a second time this season in Friday's $66,438 second division, with Tarshish getting the best of her rival in a stretch duel that lived up to the hype.

Leaving from the rail as the 2-1 second choice, Tarshish and driver Marvin Luna got away third while favoured Canttouchthese (John De Long) raced to the outside of Wunderkindbluechip (Atlee Bender) to reach the quarter first in :26.1. Canttouchthese cleared to the lead on the backstretch, with De Long grabbing leather to the half in :55. Luna wheeled Tarshish first-over on the final turn, steamrolling to look Canttouchthese in the eye at three-quarters in 1:23.3.

Tarshish grabbed a short lead at the top of the stretch, with Canttouchthese continuing to battle to her inside. With both fillies pacing home in :26.4, Tarshish got the wire a half-length ahead of a valiant Canttouchthese to score in 1:50.2. Wunderkindbluechip finished third, 3-3/4 lengths back of the winner.

Owned by Joanne Samples and trained by Walter Haynes Jr., Tarshish has now won seven of her eight starts this year, including four straight in Sire Stakes action, while banking nearly $160,000 following a rookie campaign in which she earned just shy of $200,000. The daughter of Luck B Withyou-The Partys Rockin has won nine of 17 races lifetime.

Little Rocket Man delivered another punishing display of speed in what maybe his final tune up for the $300,000 USD Dan Patch Stakes in two weeks on Friday, Aug. 8.

Leaving from the outside post five in the $30,137 Open Handicap Pace, Little Rocket Man and driver Mike Oosting battled to the outside of Coach Stefanos (Marcus Miller) through a sizzling opening quarter of :26. Little Rocket Man cleared to the top before reaching the half in :53.3, maintaining his lead to three-quarters in 1:21.4 with a revved-up Coach Stefanos still stalking intently from the pocket. Little Rocket Man would quickly dash the hopes of his pursuers in the lane, scampering away with a :26.2 final quarter to extend his lead to 3-3/4 lengths on the wire to stop the clock in 1:48.1. Golden Bay N (Trace Tetrick) rallied for second, with Buzzsaw Russ (John De Long) rallying for third in his first start off a several month layoff.

Trained by Ken Rucker, Little Rocket Man has won eight of his 10 starts in 2025, banking $192,133 on the year for owners Russ Beeman and Boomer Freeman. The nine-year-old gelded son of Rockin Image-GT Miss Royal has won 76 of 129 races lifetime, hitting the board in 101 of those outings, while banking more than $2 million.

Racing continues at Hoosier Park on Saturday, July 26 with a 14-race card featuring two divisions of Indiana Sire Stakes for two-year-old trotting fillies. The Saturday card has $7,500 guarantee in the Late Hoosier High 5 (Race 14) done in partnership with the United States Trotting Association's Strategic Wagering Program. The Saturday card gets underway at 5:30 p.m.

Saturday will also serve as the sixth annual Empire of Hope at Hoosier Park, an event dedicated to raising funds for the Standardbred Transition Alliance and the aftercare of retired Standardbreds. There will be a wide variety of fundraising promotions during the evening, headed by Charity Chariots in the Hoosier Park front paddock, from 4-6 p.m., where guests may take a lap around the oval behind a Standardbred for a $20 donation.

(With files from Hoosier Park; photo of Miss Fancy Nancy winning on July 25)