Beach Blast and Sammy Mendez have been nothing less than spectacular all season long. The duo earned their second Derby win this season Saturday, scoring the latest in the 19th running of the $137,700 Blue River Derby at Indiana Grand in Shelbyville, Indiana.
Starting from post eight, Beach Blast (photo) was out of the gate in a blink of an eye, putting a neck in front of the competition early on. Midway through the 400-yard dash, the sophomore hit another gear and pulled away from the field, winning by two and one-half lengths at the wire in 19.622 seconds, the second fastest time in Blue River Derby history.
Stone Lake and L.D. Martinez finished second over WH Imastreakinbeach and Jose Ruiz.
Beach Blast earned his third consecutive trip to the winner’s circle. He is owned by Keith Bode and Brock Hutchinson and trained by Indiana Grand’s all-time leading Quarter Horse conditioner Randy Smith.
“We enjoyed watching him today that’s for sure,” said Smith. “We were just concerned about making him go straight. We’ve had a little trouble with that, but maybe we got him going now.”
Beach Blast is now six for 10 in his career. The Sheri Miller-bred son of Escondido Beach was purchased from the QHRAI Speed Sale as a yearling for $22,000. He now has more than $280,000 in career earnings.
