Honey Red, the all-time highest priced yearling sold at the 2021 Indiana Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (ITOBA) Fall Mixed Sale, is now a race winner.
The impressive daughter from the first crop of Indiana’s richest racehorse ever, Bucchero, was a winner on the Wednesday racing program in Shelbyville at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
Making only her second start, Honey Red got away in mid-pack for jockey Joe Ramos and sat patiently through the first part of the four and one-half furlong race. The flashy chestnut filly began to move in on the leaders around the final turn, and then took over in the lane, stretching out to a two and three-quarter length win as the favorite of the field.
D’Kitten and DeShawn Parker finished second over Night Livin and Joshua Morales for third.
Honey Red paid $4.40 for the win. She is trained by Randy Klopp and owned in partnership by Klopp, Dennis Claramunt and Spiess Stable. She was bred by Dr. Crystal Chapple and Michael Phelps, who were trackside to greet the filly and Ramos in the winner’s circle.
Honey Red was highly sought after in last year’s yearling sale in Indiana, bringing $48,000 through the sales ring. She has been prepping for her racing career at Horseshoe Indianapolis all season from the Klopp barn, which stables year-round at the Shelbyville track.
“She’s special,” said Ramos of Honey Red. “In the mornings, she shows more and works nice. She has some talent and she’s learning. I thought she had a good shot to win, but as soon as she hit the turn, I had to reel her back in and get her focused to pull out the win. She’s a very nice filly to ride.”
ITOBA is currently preparing for its annual sale this fall on Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. in the receiving barn at Horseshoe Indianapolis. This year’s sale will include a new owner to the Indiana racing scene as Anthony Bradshaw was the winner of the Road to Louisville contest. As part of his prize, he will go to the sale and have up to $15,000 to purchase a yearling from the sale, with an additional $15,000 reserved for expenses for the first year of training.
