Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino hosted the first stakes event of the 2020 live racing season on Wednesday (June 24), with the $33,000 Star Destroyer Stakes for three-year-old trotting fillies highlighting the evening’s 14-race card.
Rock Swan and May Baby — the top two-year-old trotting fillies in the Hoosier State last season — picked up right where they left off and renewed their rivalry in the first starts of their three-year-old campaigns. May Baby ($3.40), with trainer James Yoder in the bike, rallied from the pocket in the final strides to nose out Rock Swan and Trace Tetrick in 1:52.3, just one-fifth of a second off the divisional track record.
Leaving from post five, Tetrick sent Rock Swan to the front, and she quickly grabbed command through the opening panel in :27.2. May Baby was content to grab the pocket seat while Shape Shifter and Peter Wrenn were next in line. Rock Swan clicked off middle fractions of :56.2 and 1:25 before ever feeling a threat from the rest of the field.
As the field turned for home, Yoder tipped May Baby out from the pocket, and the stage was set for a battle to the finish. Ultimately, May Baby prevailed in a tight photo and established a new lifetime best.
May Baby (foreground) narrowly collared Rock Swan to capture the Star Destroyer Stakes at Harrah's Hoosier Park.
With the win, May Baby pushed her bankroll to $241,990 and has now won seven of 11 of her lifetime outings. The daughter of Guccio and Free Wheeling is owned by Cheyenne Yoder and was bred by Oakwood Farms. May Baby is expected to make her next start in the opening round of Indiana Sires Stakes action for three-year-old trotting fillies at Harrah’s Hoosier Park next Wednesday (July 1).
Live racing action continues at Harrah’s Hoosier Park on Thursday (June 24) with a 14-race card, featuring the $20,000 Cliff Booth Pacing Series Final and the $20,000 Rick Dalton Pacing Series Final. The Star Destroyer Stakes return on Friday (June 25), with two $20,000 divisions for three-year-old pacing colts and one $30,000 division for three-year-old pacing fillies on the evening’s 14-race card.
(Harrah's Hoosier Park)