A pair of Indiana Sires Stakes divisions for two-year-old pacing fillies were showcased at Harrah’s Hoosier Park on Thursday, August 27 and brought forth impressive performances from the freshman fillies. Somethingbeautiful and Hot Mess Express each won their respective $40,500 divisions and did so with authority to deliver as the heavy betting favorites.
After suffering the first loss of her young career in the last round of stakes action, Hot Mess Express rebounded gamely and was the fastest divisional winner with a 1:52 open length score. With driver Sam Widger at the lines, Hot Mess Express made her game winning move down the backside and never looked back.
Leaving from post two, Hot Mess Express settled along the rail in third while DP Spookytooth and Michael Oosting reached the front through the opening quarter in :27.1. Widger gave Hot Mess Express the green light and she powered up to take the lead just before the :55.2 half.
With a two-length lead at the three-quarters in 1:24, Hot Mess Express simply paced away from her competition. With a :28 final panel, Hot Mess Express coasted to the wire under a hand drive from Widger to finish six-and-a-half lengths in front of Uncut Gem and Joey Putnam. Sassy Cindy and Peter Wrenn rallied well late to finish third. Hot Mess Express returned $2.10 at the betting windows.
Trained by Jamaica Patton, the daughter of Panther Hanover—My Heart Was True recorded her fourth win from five lifetime outings. Hot Mess Express pushed her lifetime bankroll to $56,125 for owner Sam Bowie.
In the opening division of the stakes action, Somethingbeautiful continued her winning ways and turned in another dominant performance to score in 1:53. With regular pilot LeWayne Miller in the sulky, Somethingbeautiful switched up her tactics and opted for a trip off the pace to deliver as the heavy 1-9 favourite.
Unhurried from the gate, Somethingbeautiful eased off the gate to find a spot along the rail in fifth while a host of others left aggressively. Ever Rocking and Brandon Bates were the first to get a call through the opening quarter in :28 and lead the field to the half in :56.4.
When the field reached the three-quarters in 1:25.2, Miller had Somethingbeautiful first-over and on the attack. Utilizing a :27 final quarter, Somethingbeautiful sprinted past her competitors and finished five lengths to the good. Baci Baci and Ricky Macomber Jr. utilized a pocket trip to finish second while Skyway Brittney and Sam Widger rounded out the trifecta. Sent off at odds of 1-9, Somethingbeautiful returned $2.10 at the betting windows.
With the win, Somethingbeautiful recorded her fourth straight victory and remains undefeated in four lifetime starts. The daughter of Always A Virgin-Summer N Sand is trained by Dylan Davis and owned in partnership by Howard Taylor, E. Gold, A. Basen, and R. Lombardo. Somethingbeautiful now sports a lifetime bankroll of $64,500.
Indiana Sires Stakes action will continue at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Friday, August 28 with two $42,000 divisions for the two-year-old pacing colts and geldings. The evening’s 14-race card will also feature a $10,000 Guaranteed Hoosier High-5 pool on the last race of the program.
(Hoosier)