Short Summer Dress will be a horse that is forever part of jockey Joe Ramos’ resume. The four-year-old chestnut filly gave the young jockey his first career stakes win Wednesday in the inaugural running of the $65,000 IU Hoosier Stakes at Indiana Grand in Shelbyville.
Short Summer Dress (photo) came into the event on a two-race win streak with Ramos aboard, but the jump to stakes action was her first attempt against a tougher field. The daughter of Munnings began her journey from post one as the fourth choice in the field of six. Ramos had the filly ready to roll out of the gate and secured the top spot in the first few strides of the five-furlong turf race.
Tap N Sway and Tommy Pompell tracked their progress early on as Short Summer Dress continued to hold on to the top spot through the only turn of the race. Lady of Luxury and Mitchell Murrill came up on the outside to challenge, looking like she would be the horse to overtake Short Summer Dress. However, Short Summer Dress had another gear to hit and dug in gamely, holding off Lady of Luxury by three-quarters of a length at the finish line for the win.
Carimba and DeShawn Parker finished third.
The time of the race was 57.31 seconds, which also becomes the stakes record.
“This filly has a lot of speed and she broke out of there and took me with her,” said Ramos. “The trip was exactly like we had hoped for. Randy (Klopp) and his crew have done such a good job with her. I have to thank him for this opportunity, and I think she isn’t done yet. I think she can win another stakes this year.”
Short Summer Dress paid $14.60 for the win. She is now under the care of Indiana Grand leading trainer Randy Klopp, who co-owns her with Roger Spiess’ Spiess Stable.
“Roger (Spiess) actually picked her out at the Keeneland sale last fall (for a purchase price of $21,000),” said Klopp, who owns a farm in Rushville, Ind. “She had been racing in Canada and we got a start in her at Turfway right after we bought her, but she was really nervous, so we decided to give her the rest of the winter off and just get her ready for this meet.”
Klopp and Spiess had intentions of sending her into stakes action earlier in the meet, but when a severe storm blew through Indiana Grand in June, their plans were placed on hold. However, Short Summer Dress has performed well for them despite the setback, winning three of five starts since joining their stable.
“She got hurt when that bad storm came through here and hurt her knee,” explained Klopp. “But thank goodness everything worked out well with that and she was back for this stakes race. Joe (Ramos) has liked her all along. He told me ‘I will win a stakes on her before this meet is over’ and he was right.”
Ramos, a native of Puerto Rico, is currently in his third year of riding. After graduation from his country’s famed Escuela Vocacional Hipica Agustin Mercado Reveron in December of 2018, he won his first race in Puerto Rico before hitting the road to the United States.
Since his arrival in the Midwest, he tied Kendal Sterritt with 25 wins in 2019 at Indiana Grand to share the title for the Juan Saez Leading Apprentice Jockey. He also was crowned the Leading Apprentice Jockey at Belterra Park that same year. To date, he was 257 wins and more than $4.4 million in purses.
The win aboard Short Summer Dress was his 40th this season at Indiana Grand, which ranks him in fourth place on the leading jockey standings.
“I am so blessed,” said an excited and grateful Ramos following the win. “God has blessed me a lot. All the praise goes to Him.”
