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Owners Brad and Patti Marshall have been in this scenario before.
They purchased a Quarter Horse in 1998 at Heritage Place as a barrel horse prospect named A Half Dime. However, when they got him home, it was evident he wasn’t ready to leave racing.
They made arrangements for a trainer and delved into Quarter Horse racing, winning their very first race at Mt Pleasant Meadows in Michigan.
This time, the story follows the same scenario. Red Headed Beach was with the Tim Eggleston barn in training this past winter. The Marshalls were alerted she wasn’t showing much speed and might make a better barrel horse. Eggleston’s team gave her one more shot and she did a complete turnaround, proving, like A Half Dime, she wasn’t ready to leave the track.
Red Headed Beach is now the winner of the richest Indiana Quarter Horse race in history, dominating in the 11th running of the $224,280 Leader of the Class Sale Futurity at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville.
Starting from post five, Red Headed Beach came out of the gate on cue for jockey Rolando Pina and blasted down the track, leading every step of the way to score the win in the 350-yard dash. The sorrel filly won by two lengths well under wraps for Pina.
Tin Knocker and Martin Munoz rallied up the inside for a solid second over Go O Commando, who was in contention the entire way for James Flores to finish third on the outside.
Red Headed Beach was the favorite of the field, paying $2.80 for the win. The Escondido Beach filly, owned by Patti Marshall, is now four for five in her young career. She more than doubled her career earnings tally with the win and now has more than $244,000 on her card.
It was a big decision for Pina to ride Red Headed Beach. He had been aboard the filly for all of her starts, but he had also guided Trixs Are for Kids to a perfect four for four heading into the race, including a win in the Jaguar Rocket Futurity. Eggleston trains both horses. Pina opted to stay with Red Headed Beach.
“It was a really, really tough decision,” said Pina on choosing Red Headed Beach, who was the fastest qualifier from the trials. “But this filly is something really special. She’s a once in a lifetime filly. She did everything perfect. She perked her ears once and seemed to be looking at the other horses. That’s the only time I tapped her. She did the rest. We have an amazing team (Eggleston barn) right now that all came together for this win.”
Red Headed Beach has been a member of the Eggleston family from the beginning. Her dam, Red Storm Flash, was purchased out of Glenn and Sheri Miller’s annual online sale and was foaled out at Eggleston’s farm. Tim’s wife, Keli, has been with the filly from day one.
“She’s a one-of-a-kind filly,” said Keli. “And she doesn’t live up to her feisty name anymore. She’s a sweetheart to work around.”
Tim Eggleston, who splits his time between barns at Horseshoe Indianapolis and the farm in southern Indiana, depends on Keli to oversee operations at the farm. He noted Red Headed Beach spends a lot of time at the farm with Keli.
“Keli does it all,” added Tim. “I have to thank Keli a lot for getting her here. After she was born, we gave her back to Patti and she grew her up. Thank goodness she brought her back to us.”
The Marshalls have a farm in Plainwell, Michigan, that is geared toward barrel horses. Both Brad and Patti are still very active on the barrel horse circuit in the Midwest and were headed to a show in Michigan following Red Headed Beach’s win in the Leader of the Class Futurity. The Marshalls are hopeful they will be back for one more race this season at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
“Good Lord willing and nothing comes up, she (Red Headed Beach) will be back for the Roxie (Miss Roxie Little Futurity) in late October,” added Tim.
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