Newcomer Darren Hancock will make his Indiana debut on Saturday at Hoosier Park. The Australian-born driver-trainer made the trek from down under earlier this year
to try his luck in the United States.
After a brief stop at Cal-Expo near Sacramento, Hancock and his family relocated to their final destination in the Hoosier State.
Hailing from Pheasants, Australia, Hancock will begin his evening in the fifth race with trotter The Windsurfer A. A nine-year-old son of Classic Adam, The Windsurfer A has earned 17 wins in 123 career starts and is just shy of $100,000 in career earnings. After winning his qualifier at Cal-Expo in late February, the veteran trotter tackled the track’s top horses in the Open Handicap, finishing third and followed that start up with a second place finish in the conditioned ranks.
Hancock will guide The Windsurfer A from post 10, which is the second tier. The duo has been chosen as the fourth choice in the 10-horse lineup at odds of 9-2.
The second starter for Hancock is Lightning Ridge N in the evening’s 10th race. Starting from post four, the seven-year-old son of Camtastic made one start at Cal-Expo before shipping to Indiana. He qualified well for Hancock in a time of 1:58 and will look to get back on track at odds of 12-1. Lightning Ridge N is owned by Hancock and Brad Hanns of Dapto, Australia. With 14 career wins, he is also just shy of $100,000 in career earnings.
Hancock brought five horses over from Australia to race this season. The 41-year-old hopes to add to that number as he gets established in the United States. Hancock will make his first start as both a driver and a trainer on American soil at Hoosier Park Saturday.
(Hoosier Park)