It was a good night at the office for Henry Graber Jr. as his trainees once again swept the trifecta in the lone $130,822 dash of the fourth leg of Indiana Sire Stakes for three-year-old trotting fillies on Wednesday, July 16 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park with Better Takem prevailing.
Leaving from post five as the 2-1 second choice with Jordan Ross serving as the pilot, Better Takem left alertly, racing to the outside of leader Swan Jewel (Marcus Miller) through an opening quarter of :28. Better Takem cleared on the backstretch before tapping the brakes to the halfway point in :57.2. Better Takem took pressure on the final turn from Martz Seven (Atlee Bender), who towed 8-5 favourite Miracle Maven (John De Long) into contention second-over at three-quarters in 1:27.1.
Better Takem turned away Martz Seven at the top of the lane and was soon faced with her two stablemates, Miracle Maven and Classical Jane (Trace Tetrick), moving within striking distance on the wide side. Trotting home in :28.1, Better Takem reached the wire first, 1-1/4 lengths clear of Miracle Maven in 1:55.2 with Classical Jane finishing third, two lengths back of the winner.
Graber also co-owns the winning daughter of Dont Letem-Barmaid with Indiana Stables LLC. Better Takem is two-for-four on the season and went over six figures in yearly earnings with Wednesday's win. She has now won half of her 12 lifetime starts, banking $310,959 in career earnings while hitting the board in all but one race.
Racing continues at Harrah’s Hoosier Park on Thursday with a 14-race card featuring two divisions of Indiana Sire Stakes for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings. The Thursday card also includes $10,000 guarantees on both the Late Pick 4 (Races 11-14) and the Late Hoosier High 5 (Race 14), with both of those guarantees done in partnership with the USTA’s Strategic Wagering Program.
(With files from Hoosier Park)