Door Dash pulled off a monster upset winning the $131,944 second leg of Indiana Sire Stakes for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings at Hoosier Park on Friday, June 12.
Slotted in post one, driver Kevin Lambright elected to put in a bid for an earlier lead with the Trent Stohler trainee Door Dash before What Nooo Waaay (John De Long) crossed over in front of him. At the quarter in :26.3, What Nooo Waaay led the single-file filed of eight tightly followed by Door Dash and King Tellit (Jay Cross) in third.
Along the backstretch, the positions remained unchanged with What Nooo Waaay leading the charge to the half in :55.1. Growing restless, Mystical Rock It (LeWayne Miller) challenged the leading trio along the outside.
The post time 1-9 favourite, Swiss Lights (Trace Tetrick), had to navigate a breaking Dancingdreamer (Marcus Miller) on the backstretch, moving around to give chase in fifth on the far turn after the interference. Meanwhile, What Nooo Waaay held strong to the three-quarters in 1:22.4 while Door Dash stalked from the pocket in second.
Door Dash took aim at the leader turning for home, tipping from the two-hole and moving alongside What Nooo Waaay. Battling a tough trip earlier in the race, Swiss Lights moved into second but Door Dash was gone on the lead midway through the lane. Rocketing home in :26, the 41-1 longshot Door Dash completed his delivery with time to spare at the wire in 1:49.1, three lengths clear. Swiss Lights rallied for second, while Aces And Cinches (Kyle Wilfong) got up for third.
Making a successful Sire Stakes debut, Door Dash paid $85 to win.
The Rockin Image-Metro Shopping gelding, who has now won three (consecutive) races from six lifetime starts, was bred and is owned by Indiana's Trent Stohler Stable Inc., Benjamin Graber and Tim Graber.
Directly following the stakes race, trainer Alvin Miller's M M S Bud was back on top in the $30,556 Open Pace after a pair of runner-up efforts.
Out of the gate quickly from post five for driver John De Long, M M A Bud battled the post time favourite Golden Bay N (Trace Tetrick), who eventually claimed the early advantage. Golden Bay N met the first quarter in :26.1. Single file, the unchanged field sat behind Golden Bay N to the halfway mark in :54.3 and three-quarters in 1:22.2 with M M S Bud on his heels.
Not long down the stretch, M M S Bud glided past the race leader. Coach Stefanos (Marcus Miller) took aim with his usual late rally from the backfield but could not reel in M M S Bud, who stopped the timer in a career-best 1:48.4. Coach Stefanos finished three parts of a length back in second, while Crooked Smile (Jordan Ross) snagged third.
Winning for the fourth time in nine starts this year, M M S Bud returned $5.80 to his backers at the betting windows.
The five-year-old Tellitlikeitis-Climate Hanover gelding with career earnings of $466,116 is owned by his trainer along with Indiana partners Ted Comerford and Marvin Schwartz.
The second leg of Indiana Sire Stakes action wraps up on Saturday, June 13 with the three-year-old pacing fillies facing off in race 10. Saturday’s card will include a $7,500 USD guaranteed Late Pick 4 and a $7,500 USD guaranteed Hoosier High 5 done in partnership with the United States Trotting Association's Strategic Wagering Program. First post is set for 5:30 p.m.
The Saturday card at Hoosier will be sharing the national spotlight with Woodbine Mohawk Park's Pepsi North America Cup program live on Fox Sports. The program will air on Fox Sports 2 from 8-10 p.m., before switching to Fox Sports 1 from 10-11 p.m., with locals cheering on the Indiana sensation Odds On Mr Mamba in the million-dollar feature north of the border.
(With files from Hoosier Park)