Indiana’s three-year-old pacing colts were in the spotlight at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Saturday, May 23 to square off in the opening round of Indiana Sires Stakes. Freaky Feet Pete and Wiggle It Jiggleit, considered two of the top pacing colts for 2015, both delivered in their respective eliminations.
Making his 2015 return to the races, Freaky Feet Pete picked up right where he left off as he found the winner’s circle in his sophomore debut, winning in 1:50.3. Driven by Trace Tetrick, Freaky Feet Pete used a :27.2 final panel to coast home a winner by two lengths.
Freaky Feet Pete settled well off the early pace, retreating to fifth while the rest of the field battled for early position through first half fractions of :27.1 and :55.4. Freaky Feet Pete began his quest to the front just past the half and reached the leader’s wheel approaching the final turn. After reaching the three-quarter pole in 1:23.1, Freaky Feet Pete found his best strides late in the lane and cruised home to notch his first victory of the season. The 1:50.3 final time equals his career-best.
“I think his best attribute is that he’s very versatile, on the front, off the pace, it doesn’t really bother him,” Tetrick noted after the race. “Great horses do great things and that’s what he is. He’s come back great, he’s fresh, he’s ready to race, and he loves his job.”
Voted Indiana’s two-year-old pacing colt of the year, Freaky Feet Pete has now won 10 of 11 career starts and earned $271,950 for owners Mary Jo Rheinheimer and Marty Rheinheimer. The son of Rockin Image-Skyway Lori is trained by Larry Rheinheimer.
In the very next division, Wiggle It Jiggleit, fresh off his world record setting performance, made his Hoosier Park debut a winning one to remain undefeated in nine starts. With regular pilot Montrell Teague in the sulky, Wiggle It Jiggleit made a powerful move down the backside and cruised to the wire seven lengths in front of his competition in 1:50.3.
The world champion took off the speed early in the mile, but made a controlled move to the lead and cleared just before the half-mile mark through fractions of :27.1 and :55.3. Wiggle It Jiggleit led the field through the three-quarter split in 1:23.3 before beginning to put his talent on display. As the rest of the field struggled to stay within striking distance, Wiggle It Jiggleit was racing the clock. Finishing well within himself at the wire, the son of Mr Wiggles-Mozzi Hanover coasted home with his earplugs still in-tact.
“I don’t want to put him on the front every time, he’s versatile and I think he can go any way,” Montrell Teague noted in the winner’s circle. “I could have taken him back to last and he probably would have done the same thing. Racing him off the pace just teaches him that he has to calm down a little bit, and now, hopefully, we’ll be ready for next week.
“He’s awesome, his attitude, his intelligence, he just does everything right,” Teague continued. “It’s a pleasure to be around a horse like him and to go those kind of miles every week. I didn’t even pop the earplugs tonight.”
Wiggle It Jiggleit became the fastest three-year-old pacing colt on a half-mile track in history when he romped to a 1:49 victory at Harrington Raceway on May 11. He is conditioned by Clyde Francis and owned by George Teague Jr. With the victory, Wiggle It Jiggleit’s career earnings surpassed the $100,000 mark. He is among the top-ranked 2015 Pepsi North America Cup eligibles in Trot Magazine's Spring Book.
Trainer Jon Anderson teamed up with driver Rick Plano to double up in the other two divisions of the stakes action. The Anderson-Plano scored first with My Buddy Ninkster in the opening split and followed up with Rockin Ron scoring in the final division.
After finishing second in his last two outings, My Buddy Ninkster rebounded to find the winner’s circle when it counted in 1:51.1. Benefitting from a pocket trip, My Buddy Ninkster was able to overcome the tempo-setting Harfo Hanover and Tony Hall late in the lane.
My Buddy Ninkster recorded the fourth victory of his sophomore campaign while establishing a new lifetime mark in the process. Owned by John and Mary Krasnican, the son of Dali-Sporty Ellie has now earned $46,553 lifetime.
In the final division of the stakes action, Rockin Ron kept his winning streak alive as he recorded his fifth consecutive victory at Hoosier Park in 1:51.2. The Jon Anderson trainee dictated fractions of :27, :55.2 and 1:23.2 before powering home a winner.
The son of Real Desire-Im All A Roan is now five-for-five this season and six-for-15 in his career. Owned by Ronald Phillips, Louis Leinberger and Jesse Ferge, Rockin Ron has earned $58,300 lifetime.
All four of the evening’s elimination winners successfully earned a spot in the first of five $75,000 Indiana Sires Stakes finals slated for May 30 at Hoosier Park. With a daily post time of 5:15 p.m., live racing at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino will follow a Tuesday through Saturday schedule.
(With files from Hoosier Park)
I noticed what Mr. Brown did.
I noticed what Mr. Brown did. That said i watched it a few more times in slow motion and it looked to me that he was trying to change gears too quickly and simply steadied himself before "driving on" . His stretch drive which was straight and true would also suggest that. If I am correct he will be scary for the other 3 year olds to deal with!!
Nice colt, I wouldn't be
Nice colt, I wouldn't be concerned about how fast you can make him go in the final, I would be more concerned about keeping him fresh. It's going to be a long summer, quite a few other colts are just getting their first starts in. I'm certainly not a trainer, but I didn't like the looks of this colt as he was taking the lead, he looked sore.