Dont Spank Me made her first appearance in the top class a winning one as she pulled the 18-1 upset in the featured event of the evening, a $22,000 Fillies and Mares Invitational Pace, at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Friday, May 23.
Guided by Andy Shetler, Dont Spank Me came charging late in the lane to score in 1:51.4, establishing a new lifetime mark by nearly two seconds.
Uninvolved early from post four, Dont Spank Me was eased off the gate while a host of others left alertly for position. American Girl and Peter Wrenn were the first to get a call as they grabbed the lead through the opening panel in a snappy :26.1. Their lead was short lived as LeWayne Miller had Ritascape out and firing around the first turn and took control at the half in :54.2.
The hot pace continued down the backside while the field remained in single-file order.
Tyler Smith gave Always About Katey the green light and committed to the outer flow, but were able to pick up cover from No Respect and Sam Widger. Ritascape continued to call the shots around the three-quarter clocking in 1:23.3 and braced herself for the long Hoosier Park stretch.
No Respect was able to wear down the tiring leader and Always About Katey was in hot pursuit on the far outside. While the damage was being done on the front end, Dont Spank Me was desperate for racing room. In a thrilling stretch battle, Dont Spank Me found the room she needed and used a :27 final panel to best her rivals by one length. Always About Katey settled for the second-place finish while No Respect held on gamely for third.
Dismissed at 18-1, Dont Spank Me returned $39 to her backers at the window.
Trained, owned and bred by Wayne Carter, Dont Spank Me notched her first win of the season from three starts. The four-year-old daughter of Capital Request-Catalog has now won 10 of 25 lifetime outings while amassing $95,537.
Live racing at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino will continue on Saturday, May 24 with a daily post time of 5:15 p.m. The 14-race card will be highlighted by the $22,000 Invitational Pace and $22,000 Invitational Trot.
(Hoosier Park)