Starting from post five in the field of seven, Bluelightspecial (main photo, right) left the gate with intentions of being close in the initial stages of the one and one-sixteenth mile race. Mintchocolatechip and Joe Ramos used their inside advantage to gain the first lead, but Bluelightspecial was right on the outside to press the pace to the halfway point of the race.
Heading into the final turn, Bluelightspecial took control of the lead, but had several veteran mares to her back that were gearing up for the stretch drive.
In the stretch, Louder Than Words and Sammy Bermudez came up on the outside to challenge. The two mares dug in gamely as they fought against each other for the top spot. As the wire neared, Bluelightspecial was able to get the edge, winning by one and one-quarter length over Louder Than Words.
Bluelightspecial was the favorite, paying $3.40 for the win. The three-year-old daughter of Super Saver is now four for seven this year and earned her sixth win overall. To date, she has more than $375,000 in earnings for her owners, Andrew Knapczyk and Contreras Stable. Cipriano Contreras trains the filly, who was bred by Allen Poindexter of Indiana. She was purchased for $22,000 from the Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale in Ocala during the spring of her freshman season.
“She is very professional,” noted Esquivel about Bluelightspecial. “Last time, she just wasn’t herself and he had a bad trip, but she has been coming around again to herself. She was good today. She always puts herself in a race. Today, she was all game.”
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26th running of To Much Coffee
King Ice sure makes a race exciting. As track announcer John G. Dooley said in the stretch run, “King Ice conquers again.”
The gelding loves to travel off the early leaders and make a big move from the back of the pack. His style turned out another premier racing win Wednesday in the 26th running of the To Much Coffee, a race named after one of the first standout thoroughbreds in the state, To Much Coffee, when pari-mutuel racing was introduced in the mid-1990s.
Starting from post six, King Ice (photo) was more than content to watch others rally out of the gate and search for good early positioning. On the Raydar and Sammy Bermudez caught the top spot inside and were joined by Prince Shim and Alberto Burgos on the outside. The top two led the field of 12 into the backstretch as Prince Shim was second from last.
Heading to the final turn, the rest of the field began to close the gap on Prince Shim and On the Raydar. That is when King Ice came into focus. He was moving around horses with every stride around the final turn.
At the top of the stretch, the white blinkers of King Ice were almost unrecognizable as they were brown with dirt, but he was moving with a big stride. Talamo urged the gelding forward and he took off, winning by open lengths in the one and one-sixteenth mile event.
King Ice was the favorite of the field, paying $4.80 for the win. The three-year-old son of Keen Ice earned his third win in six starts for the season and is now five for 10 overall. Hillerich Racing LLC and Bernie Flint’s LTB Inc. own King Ice, who increased his bankroll to nearly $400,000 with the win. George Leonard trains the standout Indiana bred, who has three premier racing wins this season, all at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
“He (King Ice) really finishes well and I’m very pleased with the way he raced today,” said Leonard, a native of Louisiana who has been involved in pari-mutuel racing in Indiana since the mid-1990s. “We will see what the owners say and see how he comes out of the race before we make any plans for his next start. Bernie’s the boss.”
King Ice captured attention last season when he won the Indiana Futurity, which was also on the special Hoosier Day program with the To Much Coffee. All five of his wins have been at Horseshoe Indianapolis and are days from being within the last calendar year for his connections, who were represented by Wyatt Hillerich for the trophy presentation.
“This horse is unbelievable,” said Hillerich. “I say this every time, but we are overly blessed with a horse like this. We got him off the grass, which he didn’t like, and he was back on the dirt today. Joe Talamo did a great job. It was an unbelievable ride. It’s always a thrill seeing him come down the stretch like that.”
$100,000 Indiana Futurity
Trainer Genaro Garcia purchased Molly’s Town through a private transaction last fall from Swifty Farms in Seymour, Ind. Now, he has an undefeated multiple stakes winner on his hands as Molly’s Town (photo) scored the win in the $100,000 Indiana Futurity Wednesday at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
Guided by regular rider Fernando De La Cruz, Molly’s Town broke from the outside for the first time in his young career and had to tangle with several horses to his inside that left for the lead in the one mile, 70-yard event. When it was apparent Molly’s Town would not secure the top spot easily, De La Cruz did his best to try to tuck the gelding in behind horses in the first turn, but Molly’s Town had other plans. Horses were three wide in front of him and when Kingsbury Road and Eddie Perez move to their outside, they went along with the flow of traffic.
After traveling down the backstretch to the half four-wide, Molly’s Town finally cleared to the lead heading into the final turn. From there, the gelding went on cruise control as the remainder of the field jockeyed for position for the stretch drive.
In the stretch, De La Cruz used one tap of the whip with his left hand and Molly’s Town went to town, striding away from the field. He needed no other encouragement from that point home, winning by seven and one-half lengths at the finish
Molly’s Town was the heavy favorite of the field, paying $2.80 for the win. The son of Mo Town is owned by Garcia’s Southwest Racing Stables. He now has back-to-back stakes win, pairing the Indiana Futurity with a win in the Circle City in early September.
“I was trying to get him to relax early on,” said De La Cruz, a three-time leading jockey at Horseshoe Indianapolis. “He wanted to go on. I just thank God it worked out. In the stretch, he just kept running. He’s a nice horse. I thank Genaro (Garcia) for the opportunity to ride such a nice horse.”
Molly’s Town, now four for four in his young career, has more than $162,000 on his card. The Indiana Futurity was the first time he stretched out around two turns, proving his versatility for Garcia, a four-time leading trainer at Horseshoe Indianapolis and current leader in the standings for 2023.
$100,000 Miss Indiana
Trainer Ken McPeek followed the same game plan as last year in the Miss Indiana. His strategy produced a win with Corningstone and this year, he earned another victory with Ice Cold (photo) in the 26th running of the $100,000 Miss Indiana at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Both fillies are half-sisters under the direction of McPeek.
Brian Hernandez Jr. got the call to come in and ride Ice Cold and was more than willing to jump aboard for the first time. The freshman daughter of Mitole had two starts at Saratoga and returned to Indiana for her first try in stakes action, providing the desired result.
Starting from post seven, Hernandez Jr. guided Ice Cold out of the gate with just enough speed to get good positioning behind early leaders Charged Legacy and Joshua Morales on the inside. Si Certo and Rodney Prescott also left alertly to stay close to the leader in the initial stages, sitting in a stalking position on the outside.
Charged Legacy continued to lead the way into the final turn and Ice Cold began to creep up on the top ones midway through the turn. At the top of the lane, Ice Cold was able to get through horses and get onto the lead. Once she had cleared her opponents, she hit another gear and sprinted home, winning by 10 lengths in a time of 1:43.60.
Ice Cold was the favorite of the 10-filly field, paying $3.40 to win. She is owned by Daniel McGreevy’s Tilted Shamrock Stables. She was a $65,000 purchase from the Keeneland September Yearling Sale last fall out of the Deann and Dr. Greg Baer consignment. The Baers have a small but mighty breeding operation near Columbus, Ind.
“This filly is a half-sister to Corningstone, who won this stakes race last year,” said Hernandez Jr. “Ken (McPeek) wanted to follow the same game plan. Corningstone came into this race last year and broke her maiden and this filly (Ice Cold) did the same today. We sat pretty comfortable and found something to finish with today.”
Ice Cold was making her third career start. She boosted her career earnings to more than $61,000 with the win in the Miss Indiana for McPeek, who had back-to-back winners. Although Hernandez Jr. has won many stakes races in Indiana, the win in the Miss Indiana was his first.
“When you ride for Ken (McPeek), you know if they travel within themselves up to about the three-eighths pole, they can get home,” added Hernandez Jr. “This filly did just that today.”
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