Piloted by an Angel was the quickest in the trials and returned as the quickest in the final of the 18th running of the $127,400 Jaguar Rocket Futurity Saturday at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
Piloted by Juan Marquez, the freshman sorrel filly remains undefeated in three starts for trainer Randy Smith, who scored the double in the race with his other filly, Our Louisiana Girl, finishing second.
Starting from the inside post one, Piloted by an Angel (photo) was ready for action when the gates sprung. Marquez kept the daughter of Paint My Pilot focused on her job and she responded, winning the 300-yard dash in 15.545 seconds. Stablemate Our Louisiana Girl and German Rodriguez finished a half length back in second over Jess a Lil Bit Hero and Cristian Aguiree-Erives, who won a tight photo with the fast closing We Be Flyin and L.D. Martinez on the outside for third.
Piloted by an Angel was the race favorite, paying $3.60 for the win. Bred by Dunn Ranch, the Indiana bred filly is closing in on $100,000 in career earnings as she keeps her race record perfect in three starts.
“She’s a really nice filly and has trained good the whole time,” said Smith. “She’s a whale of a filly. When we got back (to Indiana) and started getting her in schooling races, we found out she had a little speed. I thought the other filly (Our Louisiana Girl) ran a good race. I didn’t know which one of the two would win because they are pretty close.”
Piloted by an Angel is co-owned by Smith’s wife, Debbie, with SJC Inc.’s Sam and Tracy Cruz, who reside in Orange County, California. The owners were trackside for the trophy presentation.
“This is our first and only Quarter Horse we have this year,” said Tracy Smith. “We’ve had a horse in the past, but this is the only one we have right now. My cousin, Chris Duke, raised this filly from a baby. He’s the one that got us into this.”
