Miss Sandy Beach and driver Jay Cross broke their maiden in convincing fashion Saturday, April 4 to win the second round of the Future Stars series at Hoosier Park Racing and Casino
. The three-year-old filly earned her first win in a time of 1:55.3 in the third of three divisions of the event.
Jay Cross had Miss Sandy Beach primed and ready for the start, using an early burst of speed to get out on top before the first turn. Shortly after the quarter-mile marker in a brisk :26.4, race favourite First To Cruise powered to the front and led the field of nine through fractions of :58.1 and 1:27.2.
“I had envisioned that the other filly (First To Cruise) would be heading to the lead, so thought we should get toward the front early,” said Cross. “With the two scratches to the inside of us, I had to take advantage of that.”
In the stretch, Miss Sandy Beach was ready for action, moving to the outside to overtake First To Cruise. However, she had a different battle to fight. Hoosier Panther with Elliott Deaton was also on the move, vying for the top through the final strides of the race. Miss Sandy Beach prevailed by three-quarters of a length at the finish over Hoosier Panther. First To Cruise maintained positioning to round out the top three.
Miss Sandy Beach was making only her second start of 2009. The Jennas Beach Boy filly had four starts at the end of 2008, but appears to be coming back strong as a sophomore.
“I drove this filly (Miss Sandy Beach) last year and she showed lots of speed but she had “greenness” issues,” said Cross. “She qualified really well this year. She raced good in her first start and came back again today and raced well.”
Owned by Travis Mack of Holton, Indiana, Miss Sandy Beach is the daughter of Miss A Kiss, a longtime staple from Mack’s breeding operation. Miss A Kiss is the daughter of Kissed M All, who produced solid racehorses such as There Goes The Buc and Goway Th Windblows for the Mack family.
“Miss A Kiss died this winter,” said Mack. “So this is one of the last foals from her.”
In other divisional action of the Future Stars Series, McFlirty and Brad Hanners were gate to wire winners in the first division, stopping the clock in 1:54.3. Susies Lil Rip used opposite strategy to win her division in 1:55.3, coming from off the pace for the win with Jason Dillander in the bike.
Miss Sandy Beach, McFlirty, and Susies Lil Rip will return for the third round of the Future Stars Series Saturday, April 11. The top 10 fillies and mares with the highest total earnings from the series will return for the $15,000-est. final set for Saturday, April 18.
(Hoosier Park)