The beat goes on for one of the hottest horses in North America as Sabonis extended his win streak to 10 by winning his $20,270 elimination for the Hoosier Cup on Friday, Sept. 6 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park.
M Ms Bud delivered as favourite in the second elimination. The top five finishers from each elimination will advance to the $75,000 USD final for Indiana-sired three-year-old pacing colts on Friday, Sept. 13.
Sabonis was sent off as the 1-5 favourite in the field of seven, leaving from post four with regular pilot Joey Putnam in the bike. Sabonis was aggressive off the gate, but was out-sprinted by a fired-up Noblesville (Devon Tharps), who rode the tailwind entering the first turn to a blistering quarter of 25 seconds. Sabonis sat the loose pocket while Noblesville slowed things down to the halfway point into the wind in :55.1. Noblesville kicked away once more entering the final turn before Sabonis began to find his best stride to close the gap back down to 2-1/2 lengths at three-quarters in 1:23.1.
The early speed began to takes its toll on Noblesville, who tired turning for home. Sabonis quickly took advantage and grabbed command by two lengths at the eighth pole while Dale Yea (Marvin Luna) moved into contention up the passing lane in second. Dale Yea gave the bettors' choice a fright in deep stretch, but Sabonis utilized a :26 final quarter to hold Dale Yea at bay by three-quarters of a length in 1:49.3. Packedwithluck (Trace Tetrick) finished third, while Stat That (LeWayne Miller) and Skyway Masterpiece (Jordan Ross) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, to advance to the final.
Trained by Aaron Stutzman, Sabonis has won 13 of 14 on the year while earning $480,581 -- the bulk of his bankroll -- this season. The three-year-old son of Tellitlikeitis-Gypsy Bellevue is owned by Pat Miller and has yet to finish off the board in his 16-race career.
The second elimination provided a thriller where the photo finish camera was needed to catch 3-5 favourite M Ms Bud with his nose on the wire first between two foes.
Driver Pete Wrenn picked up the drive this week, putting M Ms Bud in his usual spot atop the field early through an opening quarter of :26.1. M Ms Bud had things his way to the half in :55.4 before A New Endeavor (John De Long) was the first to provide a threat in the outer flow, moving into third on the outside through three-quarters in 1:24.3.
Turning for home, A New Endeavor continued to bear down on M Ms Bud, while pocket-sitter Midnight Rocker (Tetrick) took his shot up the passing lane. Digging in gamely to fend off the two-pronged attack, M Ms Bud fought to the wire a nose clear of a surging Midnight Rocker and quarter-length in front of A New Endeavor in 1:51.1. The last two advancing to the final are fourth-place finisher Play Action Pass (Luna) and Evileye Feegle (Miller), who finished fifth.
Alvin Miller trains and co-owns M Ms Bud along with Ted Comerford and Marvin Schwartz. The gelded son of Tellitlikeitis-Climate Hanover picked up his second win of the season in 10 starts. M Ms Bud has earned $115,283 on the year -- just over half of his career bankroll.
Along with the lion’s share of the $75,000 USD purse, the winner of the 2024 Hoosier Cup will also receive an auto-nomination to the $150,000 USD (est.) Jennas Beach Boy for three-year-old pacers on Friday, Sept. 20 as part of the Caesars Trotting Classic card.
To go along with the final for the Hoosier Cup, the card on Friday, Sept. 13 will also include the $400,000 USD (est.) finals for both the Peter Haughton and Jim Doherty Memorials. Two of the premier stakes races for two-year-old trotters, the Haughton and Doherty were raced at Hoosier for the first time in 2023 since moving from The Meadowlands. T C I captured the 2023 Haughton for trotting colts during a campaign in which he banked more than a million dollars and earned O'Brien Award divisional honours, while Soiree Hanover took the Doherty on her way to winning Dan Patch Award honours for the division at season’s end. First post for the card on Sept. 13 will be 6:15 p.m.
This week’s racing concludes on Saturday, Sept. 7 with a 12-race card set to get underway at 7 p.m. To go along with live racing, Hoosier will also offer free music as part of the Hop Be-Bop concert series live on the track apron from 7-10 p.m.
(With files from Hoosier Park)