The curtain rose for two-year-old Indiana Sires Stakes action at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Tuesday, July 9. With three $45,500 divisions, the freshmen trotting fillies took to their first leg of stakes races.
The night provided impressive performances and the post time favorites delivered as May Baby with James Yoder, Rock Swan with Trace Tetrick and Givemeonemoretry with Robert Taylor all found the winner’s circle.
In the first division, May Baby went to the front when the wings of the gate opened, closely followed by La Nancio and Jared Finn. The top two held their position through the opening quarter in :29.1 and had Slick N Sassy with LeWayne Miller following in third past the half in 1:00:2. The three remained in that formation through the three-quarters in 1:30:2.
Once the field hit the stretch, May Baby distanced herself from the pack and crossed the wire in 1:57.1 followed by La Nancio in second and Slick N Sassy in third. Powering home with a final quarter of :26.4, May Baby finished seven lengths in front of her competition and also recorded the fastest divisional time of the night.
“I didn’t really have a plan going into the race,” trainer-driver James Yoder said after the victory. “The front is where we ended up. She can be a little tricky to drive, but when she gets to the stretch, she’s all business.”
May Baby paid $2.40 to win and brought her lifetime bankroll to $27,750 for owner Cheyenne Yoder. The daughter of Guccio-Free Wheeling is undefeated in both of her pari-mutuel starts.
The second division of the night started with Act Of Faith and Dale Hiteman heading to the front out of post 9. She remained unchallenged until Skyway Tinacious and Peter Wrenn came first over just after the quarter in :29. Skyway Tinacious took command by the half in 1:00:0, but morning-line favourite Rock Swan with Trace Tetrick followed intently from third.
After three-quarters, timed in 1:30:0, Rock Swan left her pylon position and tracked down her competition. Stopping the clock at 1:58.0, Rock Swan finished four lengths in front and paid $3.40 to win. Skyway Tinacious took second and Whom Shall I Love with LeWayne Miller finished third.
With the win, Rock Swan brought her lifetime bankroll to $29,250 and has now won both of her lifetime pari-mutuel starts. The daughter of Swan For All-Jolly Jessica is trained by Erv Miller and owned in partnership by the S&R Racing Stables and Anthony Lombardi.
The third and final division of stakes action had all eyes on Givemeonemoretry and Robert Taylor. The pick of the betting public went to the front once the wings of the gate closed, followed closely by Pretzel Party with Brandon Bates and then Deswanslittlelorie and Peter Wrenn. By the time the trio hit the quarter in :28.1, Deswanslittlelorie moved into second and a gap of three lengths formed between Pretzel Party and the rest of the field.
With middle fractions of :58.2 and 1:28:2, the three remained in formation. The only challenger was a fast-charging Woodside Datendiva with Verlin Yoder, but she could not reach Givemeonemoretry. Coasting on to the wire, Givemeonemoretry finished three lengths in front, stopping the timer in 1:57:3. Deswanslittlelorie came in second, followed by Woodside Datendiva in third.
“She’s got good gate speed, so I wanted to get good position,” trainer-driver Robert Taylor said. “She was a little bit of a headache training down, but she’s getting better with every start. She’s got a lot of heart and desire.”
Givemeonemoretry paid $3.00 to win. The win brought Givemeonemoretry’s lifetime earnings to $28,700 for owners Kent Schenk, Taylor Racing LLC and Donnie Ray Taylor.
(Harrah's Hoosier Park)