An Indiana Sire Stakes (INSS) victory with Kountry Legacy highlighted a seven-win evening for driver John De Long at Harrah's Hoosier Park on Tuesday, July 28.

In the first $92,958 INSS division for two-year-old filly pacers, the Jeff Cullipher-trained Kountry Legacy surged off cover for her first victory in the series.

Kountry Legacy hung back off the gate from post four as Tellemhowitis (Kyle Wilfong) beat out Chancey Lucre (Anthony Miller) to lead at the quarter in :26.1. Favourite Callie Rocks (Trace Tetrick) glided out of third to assume the lead before the halfway mark in :55.4. Fantastech (Marcus Miller) pulled first-up and gave cover to Kountry Legacy going to three-quarters in 1:25.1. Kountry Legacy then came off the helmet and rocketed to the front in mid-stretch and held fellow closer Owleos Pride (Ricky Macomber Jr.) at bay by 1-1/2 lengths with a :25.3 final quarter to score in 1:51.3. Tellemhowitis (Kyle Wilfong) finished third.

The winning daughter of Capt Midnight out of Hall of Fame racemare Shartin N is owned by Pollack Racing LLC and Cullipher. Kountry Legacy debuted on June 22 with a Kentucky Sire Stakes win and finished fourth in her first INSS attempt on July 8. She is now two-for-three lifetime with $82,077 in earnings.

This win was the third of De Long’s seven on the 14-race card. He also visited the winner's circle with Sweet Image ($12.60), Ponda Light ($2.60), Jks Star ($10.60), Canttouchem ($2.20), Kountry Karp ($3.20) and Toys For You ($3). The driver, second in the Hoosier standings to perennial leader Trace Tetrick, has won 156 of his 812 drives across all tracks this year.

Fitterjake entered the second INSS division off a sharp debut victory and made her introduction to stakes competition a winning one for trainer-driver Aaron Stutzman.

From the outside post eight, Fitterjake had her eyes set on the lead, soaring to the first quarter on top in :27.4. The odds-on favourite Jks Fast (John De Long) sat second as Fitterjake stretched out the field to the half in :58.2 while Mystical Jk (Kyle Wilfong) started climbing forward first-up. The top two remained unchanged, with Fitterjake passing the three-quarters in 1:26.1. Fitterjake fended off the oncoming Jks Fast all the way to the wire to win by a neck in 1:52. Jks Fast finished second, while Mystical Jk held on for third.

The winning Jk Endofanera-For Sharks Sake filly is a homebred for James Miller. Fitterjake is undefeated in her two career starts for $53,521 in lifetime earnings. She paid $6.20 to win.

Trainer Roger Welch's rookie class found success on the card with three maiden victories by two-year-olds. The conditioner won with Sweet Image ($12.60), Ponda Light ($2.60) and Canttouchem ($2.20). After going three-for-four on Tuesday, Welch has a seasonal record of 17 wins from 45 starts for a win rate of 37.8 per cent.

Live racing at Hoosier Park continues on Wednesday with four divisions of INSS action. There will be two $65,500 USD divisions for two-year-old pacing males in the fourth and 12th races and $48,500 USD and $49,000 USD races for three-year-old trotting fillies in the sixth and 11th races, respectively. The 14-race card features the $10,000 guaranteed Late Pick 4 and the $10,000 guaranteed Late Hoosier High 5 done in partnership with the USTA’s Strategic Wagering Program.

(With files from Hoosier Park)