The race is named in honor of former Indiana Quarter Horse supporter Sterlie Bertram, who was instrumental in creating the Indiana Quarter Horse Breeders Association.
CV Struttinforakiss and Edgar Diaz (photo) broke from the inside post one and were side by side with Sum Beach Sum Were and Martin Munoz in the early stages of the 400-yard dash. The two horses moved as a team down the stretch as Sundays Best and Giovani Vazquez-Gomez were a little further out, but also searching for the top spot.
As the wire neared, CV Struttinforakiss was able to get a head in front of Sum Beach Sum Were and it was just enough to secure the win by a neck over Sundays Best. Sum Beach Sum Were finished a close second in a photo that included the entire field of eight at the wire, showing the competitiveness of the race.
CV Struttinforakiss was the favorite, paying $5.20 for the win. It was his third win of the season in six starts for the three-year-old sorrel son of Kiss My Hocks. He has not been worse than third all year for Campos Family Ventures and Claudio Barraza who trains the colt.
“He isn’t the best out of the gate,” said Diaz through interpretation by Barraza in the post-race interview with Rachel McLaughlin. “He usually catches after 100 yards. At 100 yards, I asked him for more and he responded.”
CV Struttinforakiss, bred by Mark Michel, earned his first stakes title in the Bertram Memorial.
“When we first got this horse, it took a while to get it all together,” added Barraza, who has had much success with another horse from the Michel breeding operation in Mr. Michel. “He didn’t break well but he always finished well. I thought 400 yards was going to help him.”
Hoosier Park Classic
High Rolling Seize set sail for the finish line and rolled right to victory in the 27th running of the Hoosier Park Classic. The race was one of three initial stakes run in 1997 during the first season of pari-mutuel racing at Hoosier Park before relocating to Horseshoe Indianapolis in 2013.
High Rolling Seize and jockey Shanley Jackson (photo) broke from the gate with a clean start, getting away in contention from post three and was among the top three early on. Stone Lake with L.D. Martinez were holding their own along the inside while Carters Law and Aron Hunt were showing good early form from the outside.
In the middle, High Rolling Seize was traveling along with the pack. Midway through the 400-yard dash, High Rolling Seize seemed to pick up the tempo and began to inch closer to the lead. As the wire neared, he was able to clear to the front, grabbing the title by a neck over Carter Law. HH CJ Shake and Erik Esqueda finished third in the three-way photo.
High Rolling Seize paid $27 for the win. The four-year-old son of Seize the Win is owned and bred by Glenn Graff, who also campaigned Seize the Win to numerous stakes wins, including some at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Matt Frazier trains High Rolling Seize, just like he did Seize the Win. Jackson was also the regular pilot aboard Seize the Win, showing a long history between the connections.
“The main thing with this horse was getting out of the gate,” said Jackson, who never touched High Rolling Seize with the whip. “I told him, ‘Just calm down and get out of the gate,’ and he was able to do that tonight.”
High Rolling Seize now has seven career wins, all at Horseshoe Indianapolis. His win in the Hoosier Park Classic is his third stakes victory and he now has more than $350,000 on his card, which has almost caught up with his sire’s tally of $370,000.
“This horse is super talented,” said Frazier, who is based out of a training center in Lexington, Ky. “Leaving the latch is not his strong suit, and we know that. He’s had a little trouble, but he’s been running with some very nice horses. He likes that. He likes that challenge.”
$100,000 ITOBA Stallion Season
Macho Justice proved to be too tough to handle in the 10th running of the $100,000 ITOBA Stallion Season. The three-year-old gelding battled his way to the wire for the win in the one mile 70-yard event, giving trainer Chaz Rechy and owner Raquel Soriano their first premier racing win of their career.
Macho Justice (photo, right) started his journey from post three and that is where he got away as Juancho and Manny Esquivel sprinted out for the top spot followed by Daykra and Joe Ramos, who sat to their outside and pressed the tempo in the early stages. Macho Justice was on the outside of Doubledogjustice and Fernando De La Cruz early on but was content to stay right there alongside the pair gapped by sometimes more than 10 lengths as the top two continued to lead the way.
When the final turn arrived, the rest of the field began to close the gap on the top two, including Macho Justice, who was the first to move closer to the top pair. By the top of the stretch, he had cleared to the lead but once again, here came Doubledogjustice to challenge. The pair of Indiana-sired sophomores went to war. Both were determined to win the race and neither horse was giving up.
In the final stride, Macho Justice got the edge over Doubledogjustice for the win and the title in the ITOBA Stallion Season. Highest Memories, who also made a move from the back in the final turn for Marcelino Pedroza Jr., rallied up for third.
Macho Justice was a longshot in the mix, paying $66.60 for the win. The son of Lantana Mob was purchased by Raquel Soriano and her husband, Josue Don Juan, from the ITOBA Fall Mixed Sale as a yearling for the bargain price of $2,700. He now has more than $100,000 on his card.
“I’m so happy for the owners,” said Rechy, who earned her first career premier racing title. “After they bought him in the sale, he raced last year but sort of fell off his form. He started back this year and wasn’t racing well. We changed his routine and he’s been coming around. We weren’t even sure if we should have put him in this race or not, but we thought we should give him a shot.”
$100,000 ITOBA Stallion Season Fillies
After going winless in three starts last year, Itzforever has returned as a different racehorse this season. The three-year-old filly battled in her first premier race and earned the win, her third in a row, capturing the title in the $100,000 ITOBA Stallion Season Fillies Wednesday.
Itzforever (photo, right) was reunited with Marcelino Pedroza Jr. for the race and began from post four in the field of seven. They found a spot along the inside in fourth, gapping back from the top two contenders early on, Ekati Flatter and Sammy Bermudez on the inside and Imagine the Moon and Orlando Mojica on the outside. The top two were not giving in an inch through the early stages of the one mile 70-yard route race and were still neck and neck as they rounded the final turn for home.
Drifting out to the center of the track, the top two gave some racing room to Itzforever, who moved up the inside and saved ground. Once Imagine the Moon had shook loose from Ekati Flatter, the filly then had to contend with Itzforever to her inside. At first, it appeared Itzforever would go right on by, but Imagine the Moon dug in and was not going away quietly.
The two fillies battled to the wire, with Itzforever getting the edge by a neck over Imagine the Moon. Wildcatjustice, a stablemate of Itzforever, moved up between horses to finish third for jockey Fernando De La Cruz.
“When she got to the lead, she was waiting a little on the other horse, but that’s okay,” added Pedroza Jr. “She has another stakes race coming up, so we wanted to make sure she has something left for that.”
Itzforever paid $12.80 for the win. The Forever d’Oro filly was bred by longtime Illinois horseman Tom Dorris and was purchased out of the Fasig Tipton October Yearling Sale in 2021 for $60,000 by owner David Walters of Nashville, Tenn., and trainer Tony Granitz.
“When we bought her at the sale, we had this race and the Lady Fog Horn in mind,” added Granitz. “These are the two stakes we have really been training for. We looked for a spot for her, and considered the older mares stakes, but decided this was the right spot to wait for. The team has really done a good job with her. She’s really putting it together. She’s pretty special.”
Itzforever is now four for eight lifetime. She improved her career bankroll by almost double with the win and now has in excess of $140,000 for Walters.
