Supplemented to the $170,000 Jennas Beach Boy, the Canadian-campaigned sophomore pacing colt Century Farroh stretched his stakes win streak to four with regular reinsman Sylvain Filion aboard for Dr. Ian Moore during the million-dollar Grand Circuit stakes program Friday night (September 20) at Hoosier Park.
Filion settled the 6-5 favourite away mid-pack after a post 10 start while Bronx Seelster (Yannick Gingras) was hustled to the top through a blistering :25.4 quarter ahead of Little Rocket Man (Trace Tetrick) and Jagger Rocks (Sam Widger).
Making his move mid-mile, Century Farroh cleared to command just past the half in :54.3 and proceeded to three-quarters in 1:22.1 with Rockie Got Framed (Ricky Macomber Jr.) laying on the pressure as they turned into the stretch. However, Century Farroh dug in with an eighth of a mile to go and held clear to win in 1:49.1, equalling his lifetime mark for owner Ratchford Stable NS of North Sydney, N.S.
Crimson And Chrome (Tim Tetrick) closed off cover to finish second ahead of Rockie Got Framed.
Riding a streak that includes a pair of Ontario Sires Stakes Gold divisions and the Simcoe Stakes, Century Farroh paid $4.60 to win as the bettors' choice.
Now 12-for-14 in 2019 with nearly $700,000 in earnings, the Mach Three-Beachy Girl colt will look for more success with Hoosier's upcoming Monument Circle and the Breeders Crown on his radar. He is currently the top money-earner in Canada this year ($563,451).
“I’ll talk to the owner tonight and we’ll see what he says. Basically, right now, this time of year with any horse it’s sort of week to week because he’s been going since the end of January, it’s been a long grind,” said Moore of the possible Breeders Crown supplement. “Every decision we make from here on in will be week-to-week.”
Another Canadian driver was in the Grand Circuit stakes spotlight as Louis-Philippe Roy reined Lindy The Great to a track record score in the evening's $230,000 Caesars Trotting Classic.
Lindy The Great, from post five, was among the leavers and flashed his early speed to clear Bridge To Jesses (John De Long) and Speeding Spur N (Brian Sears) during a :26.1 opener with Crystal Fashion (David Miller) parked out and forging on.
Crystal Fashion worked his way to command past the quarter pole while defending Caesars Trotting Classic champion Marion Marauder (Scott Zeron) tipped out from fifth with Maple Leaf Trot winner and 9-5 favourite Guardian Angel AS (Tim Tetrick) following his cover through a half in :55 and three-quarters in 1:23.3.
Down the stretch, Guardian Angel AS loomed the danger but Lindy The Great was trotting up a storm along the pylons and he drew off to win by 3-3/4 lengths in 1:51.1, matching his lifetime mark for trainer Domenico Cecere.
The time of the mile set a new track record for older trotting stallions and equalled the overall track record for aged trotters, established last month by gelding Bridge To Jesses.
Mission Accepted (Chris Page) closed outside to finish second while Guardian Angel AS held on in a five-way battle for show.
Sent postward at odds of 5-1 following four consecutive front-end wins at Woodbine Mohawk Park, Lindy The Great paid $13.20 to win.
"Domenico did a good job on him to keep him a little more relaxed and I didn't want to rush him too much out of the gate for that reason," said Roy of letting Crystal Fashion go early in the race. "The last two times in Toronto I couldn't get him to relax as I wanted in the middle half, but today he was just perfect -- I could do whatever I wanted with him. When I saw David [Miller] was leaving on the outside of me, I was pretty happy with the trip I was going to end up with."
The five-year-old son of Crazy and Highscore Kemp is trained by Cecere for Connecticut's K R Breeding LLC and co-owner Robert Rudolph of Vineland, New Jersey.
Prix D'Ete and Ben Franklin champion This Is The Plan was back in the stakes spotlight as he claimed the $176,000 Hoosier Park Pacing Derby for trainer Ron Burke.
Stablemate Filibuster Hanover (Chris Page) fired to command and moved back out for the retake after Endeavor (Sam Widger) made front at the :26.3 quarter mark.
Filibuster Hanover continued to lead through middle splits of :54 and 1:21.4 while Yannick Gingras worked out a perfect second-over trip for This Is The Plan behind even-money favourite McWicked.
Launching off cover in the stretch, This Is The Plan overtook Filibuster Hanover, who ended up third, and held off the passing lane plunge of Endeavor to win by a quarter-length in 1:48.4.
“Sometimes you get a scenario in your head. I didn’t tell anybody, but decided to race him from behind,” Gingras commented in the winner’s circle. “I figured if I take him back and follow McWicked, we’ll take our shots from there.”
This Is The Plan returned $9.60 to win as a 3-1 second pick.
“He’s been so good since the Ben Franklin,” Gingras explained. “He’s never put in a bad performance. Like last week, he finished seventh, but he raced as hard as any horse.”
The four-year-old Somebeachsomewhere-Thats The Plan gelding is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Jandt Silva Purnel & Libb, and Larry Karr.
Fresh off a victory in the Elegantimage Stakes at Woodbine Mohawk Park, Evident Beauty went back-to-back in Grand Circuit stakes action as she out-trotted Grand Swan in the $135,000 Moni Maker.
Starita (Dexter Dunn) established the early lead ahead of the favoured sophomore trotting filly Evident Beauty while Grand Swan (Lewanye Miller) remained parked through a :27.1 quarter before sweeping to command and hitting the half in :56.3. Keeping close tabs on the top two fillies, driver David Miller made his move with Evident Beauty on the way to the 1:26.1 third quarter mark and she advanced alongside the leader, who put up a valiant fight to the finish.
"At the head of the lane, my filly trotted right around her and I thought I was going to win easy," said Miller. "The farther they went, the other one kept getting closer and closer there, but my filly kept her head up in front there."
Evident Beauty ultimately prevailed by a neck in 1:53.3 over Grand Swan, with Starita closing within a length to finish third.
Evident Beauty is trained by Richard 'Nifty' Norman for owners Melvin Hartman of Ottawa, R A W Equine Inc. of Burlington, Ont., and the New York-based Little E LLC.
The Trixton-Struck By Lindy filly now boasts seven wins from a dozen starts this season, including the Elegantimage, Casual Breeze, Delvin Miller Memorial and New Jersey Sires Stakes Final.
She paid $3 to win as the 1-2 favourite.
Two-year-old fillies were featured in a pair of Kentuckiana Stallion Management Stakes with Priceless ($6.80) winning the $230,000 pacing division and Sherry Lyns Lady ($6.40) taking the $215,000 trot event.
Rebounding from a what trainer/driver Brandon Bates described as "just a bad day" in the fifth leg of the Indiana Sires Stakes last time out, Priceless was on her best behaviour tonight and took a new lifetime mark of 1:51.1 while improving her record to five-for-seven for local owners Kevin Miller and Bert Hochsprung.
Priceless, sent postward as the 2-1 second choice, got the first call leaving out from post four before the 6-5 favourite, Beyond Ecstasy (Tim Tetrick), crossed to command from the outside by the :26.3 quarter pole. Beyond Ecstasy clocked middle splits of :55.3 and 1:24.1 with Merga Hanover (Matt Kakaley) advancing first-over and eventually gaining a short lead in the stretch. However, the pylon-skimming Priceless powered past that pair to prevail by two lengths, with Jk Finendandy following through the passing lane to nab the runner-up role. Shouldabeenatd finished third.
"I thought for sure [at the top of the lane] if she gets any kind of daylight, she's a winner," said Bates of the trip.
The Rockin Image filly out of the Grand Circuit stakes-winning mare Btwnyurheartnmine will complete her Indiana Sire Stakes commitments before taking aim at the Breeders Crown.
“I don’t know if we can beat them, but I’m probably going to give her a shot,” said co-owner Hochsprung. “I told myself tonight that if we could beat this group, we’re probably going.”
The Kentuckiana trot ended in a photo finish between the Tetrick brothers with Tim Tetrick's mount Sherry Lyns Lady nosing out Rock Swan in rein to Trace Tetrick.
Leaving from post five, 2-1 choice Sherry Lyns Lady cleared inside starter Sorella (Christian Lind) in the first turn, but her lead was sort-lived as Sorella moved back out for the retake past the :27.2 quarter mark. After a half in :57.2, Rock Swan progressed first-up from fifth and applied pressure through three-quarters in 1:26.1. As Rock Swan gained the slight advantage on the outside in the stretch, Sherry Lyns Lady closed inside of Sorella and the Tetrick-driven fillies hit the wire together in 1:54.2.
The win photo revealed Sherry Lyns Lady had the slight edge over Rock Swan. Crucial (Chris Page) rallied off cover for third prize.
“I saw him coming,” Tetrick said of his brother and Rock Swan. “He had a jump on me and I was just hoping I could catch him late, and I did. Mine was a little funny in the last turn and she cost me a couple of steps, but good horses overcome that and she got up there and got it done.”
Owned by Coyote Wynd Farms, Vancouver, B.C. and trained by Jim Campbell, the Father Patrick-Demoiselle Hanover filly recorded her second career win from nine starts to go along with six other top three finishes.
One of four freshman pacing colts in the field trained by Ron Burke, Sawyers Desire ($18.60) shot through the passing lane to defeat the favourite in the $125,000 Elevation.
With Yannick Gingras picking up the catch-drive, 8-1 shot Sawyers Desire
ended up in the pocket position early on as Major Betts (Dexter Dunn) cleared at the :26.2 quarter mark. Odds On Osiris, the 1-5 favourite, rushed to command during the second panel, reaching the half in :55 flat and then three-quarters in 1:23.3 with driver Peter Wrenn popping the earplugs and opening up two lengths on top. However, Sawyers Desire surged by that foe late to score the upset victory in 1:51.1 by 1-1/4 lengths. Major Betts was third.
A two-time winner from eight starts, the Real Desire-Aint That Funny gelding is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and Ohio breeder David Wills.