Indiana-sired three-year-old pacing fillies were the featured attraction at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Friday evening as the 14-race card was highlighted by the $75,000 Indiana Sires Stakes final and $25,000 consolation for the three-year-old pacing fillies.
Mildrix, with Sam Widger in the bike, used a strong stretch rally to prevail in a tight photo and pull the 15-1 upset in the featured event of the evening. Stopping the timer in 1:52, Mildrix established a new lifetime best and the victory was one of three winners on the program for Widger.
Starting from the coveted rail position in the competitive field of ten, Mildrix was unhurried from the gate to get away a worrisome sixth. Elliot Deaton gave Neverforgetwhour her marching orders and she quickly grabbed the lead from post eight through the opening panel in :26.3. Virgin Eyes and Michael Oosting grabbed a pocket seat with Gate Speed and Brandon Bates followed along in third. Dee Rocks and Trace Tetrick, the heavy post time favourite, settled along the rail in seventh.
Neverforgetwhour dictated middle fractions of :55.1 and 1:23.2 before being joined on the outside by Always Woggy and Peter Wrenn who had Dee Rocks and Trace Tetrick in tow approaching the final turn. As the field turned for home, Neverforgetwhour was bracing for the cavalry charge to the wire and a cavalry charge it was. Horses began to fan out across the track but the biggest threat was to the inside.
Sitting last at the top of the stretch, Widger utilized the passing lane to find late racing room and Mildrix found a :27.1 final panel to get the win by a head. Two lengths separated the top seven finishers. Neverforgetwhour held on valiantly for second place honours while Let Me Fly Low and Ricky Macomber, Jr. rallied well for third. Mildrix returned $33.40 to her backers at the betting windows.
Trained, owned and bred by Kelly Goodwin, Mildrix recorded her first win of the season from three starts and second lifetime victory. The daughter of Real Desire-Didrickson has now amassed $57,100 in lifetime purse earnings.
“We weren’t expecting to go in the sires stakes in just her third start of the season but she raced really well the previous week,” Goodwin mentioned after the win. “She can be a little tough, she has her own way of doing things but she’s a nice filly and we’re really happy with her.”
The upset trend continued in the $25,000 Indiana Sires Stakes consolation for three-year-old pacing fillies as Trace Tetrick steered Always Curious to victory at odds of 12-1. Stopping the timer in 1:51.3, Always Curious used a :27.4 closing quarter to get the win by nearly two lengths and establish a new lifetime best in the process. Jeff Cullipher trains and co-owns the daughter Always A Virgin—A Loskoz Bluegrass with Tom Pollack.
Live racing will continue at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Saturday, June 30 with an 11-race card featuring a $20,000 Guaranteed Hoosier High-5 Pool. The Hoosier High-5 went unsolved on Friday, resulting in a $7,503 carryover for Saturday’s program. The Hoosier High-5, also known as the Pentafecta, is featured in the last race of every program at Hoosier Park and features an industry low takeout of 12% with a 20 cent minimum wager.
(With files from Hoosier Park)