Two-year-old trotting colt Apex and driver Dexter Dunn proved to be top dogs in the $512,431 Peter Haughton Memorial at Harrah’s Hoosier Park on Friday, Sept. 12. The ‘Win and You’re In’ event for the Breeders Crown highlighted the 15-race card along with the filly companion $645,000 Jim Doherty Memorial won by Atlantic Summer.

Apex was made the 2-5 favourite by the bettors, leaving from post two in a scratched down field of nine rookie trotting colts. Dunn landed Apex in the third position on the first turn while Magic Punk (Ake Svanstedt) hustled off the wings to grab command with Mr Big Spender (Mike Wilder) in the pocket through a quarter of :27.2. 

The tempo slowed on the backstretch with Magic Punk left alone to a half of :57.1 when Dunn had seen enough and tipped the Marcus Melander trainee off the cones. Apex moved into second on the final turn, racing at the leader’s wheel as Magic Punk got to three-quarters first in 1:26.1.

The sprint was on, with Magic Punk briefly getting away from Apex at the top of the stretch, allowing Apex to tuck back into the pocket briefly before looking to slingshot by late. Motoring home in :27.1, a refreshed Apex took aim late and surged in front of Magic Punk in the final stages by a half-length to score in 1:53.3. Mr Big Spender held for the show position, with Hawt Yoga (Ricky Macomber Jr.) rounding out the superfecta at 99-1.

“He really couldn’t have done it any easier,” said Dunn in the winner’s circle. “He just keeps getting better and better through experiences like this. He got out of the gate really well, took a helmet, moved out, was able to tuck back in and then he finishes the miles so impressively.”

Now a winner in five of seven lifetime starts, Apex has yet to miss the board in his career while banking $631,400 for owners Jeffrey Snyder of New York City, New York, S R F Stable of Del Ray Beach, Florida and Steve Stewart of Paris, Kentucky. 

The royally bred colt by Walner out of the world champion mare Mission Brief was bred by Mission Brief Stable and sold for $729,167 at last fall’s Standardbred Horse Sale.

The victory was the second consecutive for Dunn and Melander in the Peter Haughton Memorial, having teamed up with Maryland to take the 2024 edition.

In the filly counterpart, the photo finish camera was needed to determine Atlantic Summer and driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. as the winners of the Jim Doherty Memorial.

Saddled with the outside post nine in the field of 10, Atlantic Summer wasted little time crossing over to the cones as the 6-1 shot surged to an early lead through a quarter of :27.3. 

Once on the backstretch, pocket-sitter and 4-5 favourite Lainey W (Scott Zeron) grabbed control before taking the fillies to the halfway point in a tepid :58. Atlantic Summer found herself pinned in the pocket on the final turn as Westwinds Yahtzee (Kyle Wilfong), who had been parked every step of the mile, raced outside of her in third with Lainey W leading to three-quarters in 1:27.

Zeron began to go to work on the favoyrite as Lainey W continued to face pressure from a relentless Westwinds Yahtzee to her outside and Atlantic Summer in desperate need for racing room midway through the lane. The room came to Atlantic Summer as Lainey W drifted just enough off the cones to allow the Ron Burke trainee to fire through the gap, trotting home in :28.2 to nail Lainey W by a nose on the wire in 1:55.4. Westwinds Yahtzee held for third at 23-1, with Creator (Dunn) rounding out the superfecta behind a wall of fillies.

“She’s incredibly handy and good gaited,” said Wrenn Jr. in the winner’s circle. “She’s got great ability off the gate to get position. I steadied her a little around the last turn and luckily got a little room in the stretch to get up.”

Atlantic Summer notched the second win of her career in six starts for her ownership group consisting of Burke Racing Stable of Fredericktown, Pennsylvania, Jim Simpson of Hanover, Pennsylvania, Lawrence Karr of Randolph, New Jersey and Weaver Bruscemi of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Bred by Winning Key Inc., the daughter of Captain Corey-Perfect Summer K was a $69,444 purchase at last year’s Standardbred Horse Sale and has now banked $427,068 following her career-best effort.

Streaks Extended In Stakes-Filled Undercard

In addition to the two Grade 1 stakes events, Hoosier Park hosted the penultimate leg of Indiana Sire Stakes for both divisions of two-year-old pacers and three-year-old trotters along with the Hoosier Cup where many of the state’s biggest names delivered powerhouse performances.

In the $117,708 Hoosier Cup for Indiana-sired pacers, Rock Shines Again remained perfect through 11 starts on the year, narrowly fending off his Tyler George stablemate, Somemore Soaring, to do so.

Rock Shines Again and driver Trace Tetrick left aggressively from post seven, pacing around his stablemate Somemore Soaring (Dunn) on the first turn through a quarter of :27.1 before Deal The Odds (Joey Putnam) charged from third to snatch the lead away at the half in :54.4. Rock Shines Again squeezed out from behind the leader at three-quarters in 1:23 when the 1-9 favourite grabbed what appeared to be a commanding lead with an eighth of a mile to go. However, Somemore Soaring shook loose late after being marred in traffic troubles, surging late but coming up a quarter-length short of his stablemate in 1:49.4. Special Pete (Dave Miller) was third after a first-over grind at 33-1.

Owned by Ricky Redder and T G Stable, the winning son of Rockin Image-Bikini Star has earned $237,793 on the season after going winless in 11 starts at age two.

Not to be outdone, just a few races earlier, On To Norway extended his win streak to 14 on the season with a 1:53.1 front-end score for driver John De Long in the $69,444 first Indiana Sire Stakes split for three-year-old trotting colts. Leaving from the outside post eight as the 1-20 favourite, On To Norway got away fourth through a quarter of :27.1, before moving to the lead through middle fractions of :57.1 and 1:26.1 then coasting home a winner by a measured three-parts of a length over Mehelpingyou (Dunn) and Massive Desire (Tetrick).

The gelded son of Muscle Massive-One Class Act is trained by Ron Burke and has only tasted defeat in his first start this season before reeling off his current win streak, banking $330,836 on the season for owners Burke Racing Stable, Frank Baldachino, Black And White Stable and Michael Rosenthal.

The $70,139 second division for sophomore trotting colts went to 1-5 favourite Operator and driver Kyle Wilfong with a pocket-rocket score in 1:52.2 over a game Eugene The Genius (Dunn) and hard-charging Major Velocity (Brad Ferguson). The Jay Hochstetler-trained gelded son of You Know You Do-Crazyasclassic has won half of his eight starts, with three runner-up finishes on the season for owners Connie and Homer Hochstetler, Robert Buddig, and Allen Schwartz.

Two-year-old pacing filly Somemore Blue stayed perfect through seven career outings, taking a $92,361 division of Indiana Sire Stakes for rookie fillies. Driven by Marcus Miller, Somemore Blue moved to the lead after a quarter of :27.1, having things her way through middle fractions of :56.2 and 1:25.2 before fending off Milliondollarimage (Jordan Ross) by a half-length in a career best 1:51.3. Erv Miller trains the winning daughter of Rockin Image-Misssomebeach who has earned $253,071 for owners Doug Overhiser, Kenneth Duffy, Lava Java Stable and Never 2 Late Stable.

The other split for pacing fillies was won by Whoomp (John De Long) in a career-best 1:51.3 by 2-1/4 lengths over Cruisen Halle (Kyle Wilfong) after a perfect pocket trip as the even-money favourite. The Roger Welch-trained homebred daughter of Rockin Image-Nightcap has won five of her 10 races for owners William, Patrick and Jesse De Long.

The lone $181,250 division for two-year-old pacing colts was won by 1-20 favourite Odds On Mr Mamba on the heels of his track record-equalling performance. Dexter Dunn hopped in the bike for the first time behind the gelded son of Odds On Equuleus-Honky Tonk Woman, grabbing the pocket trip before coasting home a geared down 2-1/2-length winner over pacesetter Dancingdreamer (Dave Miller) in 1:50 with JK The Great (Marcus Miller) third. Melanie Wrenn trains the Odds On Racing homebred, who has now won four of five career tries.

Martz Seven and driver Kyle Wilfong led the way in the first of two $70,139 divisions for three-year-old trotting fillies, storming home from third-over with a :27.1 final quarter to track down A Million Dances (Mike Oosting) in a 1:53.2 score with Classical Jane (Trace Tetrick) third. Walter Haynes Jr. trains last year’s Super Final champion, who has won four of 11 this year, for owners Stephen Stoll and Black And White Stable. Roman Stoll bred the daughter of Swan For All-La Mirada.

Fifty To Win, driven by Marcus Miller, rebounded from a pair of defeats in her last two to win at 6-5 in the second division for trotting fillies, methodically working to the lead from the outside post eight before crushing by two lengths over 22-1 shot Bluebird Lola (John De Long) in 1:54.3. Erv Miller trains the daughter of Fiftydallarbill-Be Winnin for owners Doug Overhiser, Macomber Racing and M and M Racing. Fifty To Win has won five of her 10 starts on the year. Swan Jewel (Atlee Bender) rounded out the top three.

The week of racing at Hoosier concludes with a 14-race card on Saturday, Sept. 13, starting at 5:30 p.m.

(With files from Hoosier Park; photo of Apex winning on Sept. 12)