I Y Q, with Walter Haynes, Jr. in the bike, scored her third consecutive win Wednesday, April 1 in the featured $24,000 Fillies and Mares Invitational Pace. The win for I Y Q marked the second consecutive trip to Hoosier Park’s winner’s circle, stopping the timer in 1:53.3, just one fifth of a second off her personal best.
Starting from post four in the eight-horse lineup, I Y Q sat in the middle of the pack while Timeless Artist and pilot Trace Tetrick grabbed the front spot, setting the pace through a :27.1 opening quarter. The brisk pace continued toward the halfway mark in :56.4, with Sayo Hanover and reinsman Peter Wrenn moving first off the inside path to challenge.
Timeless Artist continued her lead past the three-quarter pole in 1:25.2. Gina Raider, driven by Keith Crawford, had been tracking her steps throughout the race. She moved to the outside and was ready for the stretch drive home.
As the field came closer to the wire, I Y Q emerged from behind horses to have the quickest stride home, winning the contest by one-half length over EJs Copperstone and Mark O’Mara, who also closed quickly at the end. Gina Raider held steady for third.
“Last week, it was all I could do to hold her (I Y Q),” said Haynes. “She is tough to score down and was a bully behind the gate last week, but she was good tonight. This mare has a wicked move. When she gets to the stretch, she wants to race, and she’ll try to come out of a hole on her own. She has a lot of speed.”
I Y Q, trained by Trenton Watson and co-owned with his mother, Brenda, now has five wins in 2009. The Illinois-bred daughter of Big Tom moves closer to the $100,000 career earnings mark. I Y Q now possesses more than $78,000 in career earnings with more than half of that amount brought in this year.
I Y Q began racing at two, winning her first career start in 1:55.2 at Balmoral Park. She later experienced a small injury and was sidelined for nearly a year before coming back onto the racing scene in Illinois at three, taking her career best time of 1:53.2 at Balmoral Park last September. She is based from Watson’s Stable in southern Illinois at the Edwards County Fairgrounds in Albion, Illinois.
Dynamite Diva Explosive in Top Female Trot at Hoosier Park
Dynamite Diva and Hoosier Park’s 2009 leading driver Peter Wrenn scored an impressive gate to wire victory in the co-featured $24,000 Fillies and Mares Invitational Trot Wednesday, April 1. The duo looked strong through the wire in a time of 1:56.4 to earn their second win of the season.
Wrenn got the jump on the field with Dynamite Diva and obtained the top spot from the gate. He was able to dictate the fractions, passing by the first marker in :27.4. Careless Love and Keith Crawford made a run at the leaders heading down the backstretch, but were quickly denied the lead. Dynamite Diva continued the lead through middle fractions of :57.2 and 1:28.
In the stretch, last week’s winners, Wigwam Baby and Mark O’Mara, had the best shot at unseating Dynamite Diva, but they could not pass. Dynamite Diva trotted the final quarter in :28.4 to win by more than one length. Wigwam Baby settled for second over Miss DW Chip and Trace Tetrick, who maintained ground for third.
Dynamite Diva earned her 23rd career victory in her 79th career start. The six-year-old Davanti mare has more than $162,000 in career earnings for Wrenn, who also trains.
“I’ve had this mare (Dynamite Diva) quite a while,” said Wrenn. “We got her during her two or three-year-old year. We went through a couple of years of her making breaks, but last fall, she starting coming into her own. She had pretty easy fractions tonight and a breather during the third quarter, which helped a lot.”
(Hoosier Park)