Indiana’s leading jockey Marcelino Pedroza Jr. had a choice at the top of the stretch. Move to the outside or try his luck inside. He opted for the latter with Good Forever which was the winning decision in the 22nd Running of the $100,000 Circle City Stakes Wednesday at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville.
A full field of 12 two-year-old colts and geldings entered the starting gate for the stakes race, and several had intentions of being on or near the lead early. Bruster Justice and Fernando De La Cruz emerged first from the center of the pack but were quickly overtaken by a pair of inside horses as Oh So Social and DeShawn Parker with Win Me Over and Eddie Perez between horses early on.
The field remained bunched up heading down the backstretch with little racing room available for several trailing horses, including Good Forever.
Around the turn, Good Forever was wanting to move on and Pedroza Jr. had to keep the reins tight on the colt until the stretch. Bruster Justice had a short lead as the field behind him began to close in. Good Forever had the option of moving to the outside of him or dipping to the inside. Pedroza Jr. was able to find just the right racing room to advance to the inside of Bruster Justice. Once he cleared him, Good Forever opened up on his opponents and was a clear winner by two and three-quarter lengths in 1:12.77.
Healing Waters and Edgar Morales closed in on the outside for second over Taillights and Gerardo Corrales for third.
Good Forever was a surprise, paying $39.40 for his maiden breaking win. The Good Forever chestnut gelding was making his third career start with two previous runner-up finishes for trainer Genaro Garcia and his Southwest Racing Stables Inc.
“We were following the three (Win Me Over) and we really wanted to follow the seven (Bruster Justice), but it ended up working out,” said Pedroza Jr., who is a three-time leading jockey at Horseshoe Indianapolis and currently leading the standings again in 2022. “When Edgar (Morales) made the move to the outside (with Healing Waters), I thought I’d go inside. He really finished well. I want to thank Genaro and the Garcia Stable for having this horse ready to go. They did a great job.”
Garcia purchased Good Forever privately. He was bred by Hidden Springs Farm in Indiana and was one of five Indiana-sired horses in the field. Garcia continues to find success with young horses in the Hoosier State and picked up his third stakes win of the season with Good Forever. Garcia and Pedroza Jr. have combined for 10 wins together this season.
It was one of two wins on the day for Garcia and his Southwest Racing Stable, also connecting earlier on the program with Mi Estrella, ridden by Edgar Morales. Garcia earned four back-to-back titles from 2017 through 2020. He is currently in second place on the leading trainer standings for 2022. He leads all trainers in purses this year with more than $1.1 million accumulated.
