Nine straight for Milstein champ

ANDERSON, Ind.—August 23, 2024- On a night where upsets were aplenty, Sabonis (Check Six-Rockin Songbird) rewarded the bettor’s faith in him and delivered at 1-9 to extend his win-streak to nine in the penultimate leg of Indiana Sire Stakes for three-year-old pacing colts on Friday (Aug. 23) at Harrah’s Hoosier Park.

Stat That  pulled a 29-1 shocker in the first division for sophomore pacing colts, while trainer Henry Graber Jr. swept both divisions of Sire Stakes for two-year-old trotting fillies which co-headlined the 13-race card.

Making his first start since his victory in the $300,000 Milstein Memorial on Aug. 10, Sabonis was sent away from post six in the $50,000 Sire Stakes division with regular pilot Joey Putnam in the bike. Putnam settled Sabonis into fifth off of the gate while Lovers Trouble (driven by Pete Wrenn) rocketed to the front of the field of seven through a wicked first quarter of :25.4. M-M’s Bud (Jay Cross) moved to the lead from second on the backstretch before leading to the halfway point in 54.3 while Sabonis began his first-over charge from fifth. Sabonis wheeled into third on the final turn, 1-1/2 lengths back of M-M’s Bud who led to three-quarters in 1:22.4.

Sabonis surged alongside M-M’s Bud at the top of the stretch, grabbing a short lead midway through the lane but M-M’s Bud was not going to go away quietly. The two slugged it out for the length of the lane before Sabonis edged in front at the edge of the toteboard to win by three-quarters of a length over M-M’s Bud in 1:49.4.

SABONIS REPLAY

Trained by Aaron Stutzman, Sabonis has won 12 of 13 in his three-year-old campaign which has seen him bank $343,250. Bred by Karl Dean Miller, the son of Tellitlikeitis-Gypsy Bellvue is owned by Pat Miller, and is yet to miss the board in his 15-start career having won 13 of his lifetime outings.

Earlier on the card, Stat That picked a good time to pick up the first win of his three-year-old campaign, pulling a 29-1 shocker in the $50,000 first division for pacing colts. Driver LeWayne Miller put Stat That in the pocket from post two while Premier Romeo (Kyle Wilfong) grabbed the lead through a first quarter of :26.4. Premier Romeo had things his way to the half in :55.1 before leading to three-quarters in 1:23. Stat That popped the pocket turning for home, rallying with a :27 last quarter to cross the wire first by 1-1/4 lengths over a hard-charging Dale Yeah (Marvin Luna) in a career best 1:50.1.

Trained by Susan Miller for owner Derek Lehman, the victory was the first through 12 starts on the year and second of the career for Stat That. With the win, Sabonis has earned $159.969 for his career.

Additionally on the Friday night card, two-year-old trotting fillies took to the track with two divisions of their fourth leg of Indiana Sire Stakes which saw trainer Henry Graber Jr. sweep the pair.

Classical Jane (Swan For All-Class Angel) teamed up with driver Trace Tetrick to break her maiden in the $66,500 first division, upsetting at 22-1 to upend her heavily favored stablemate Better Tak’em (Jordan Ross).

Better Tak’em took command early through a quarter of :28.1 while Classical Jane grabbed the pocket in the spread out field of six. Better Tak’em led alone to the half in :57.1 prior to reaching three-quarters in 1:26.2, 4-1/2 lengths clear of her stablemate. Better Tak’em began to tire late in the lane, allowing Classical Jane to pick up the pieces late and snag the victory by a quarter-length in 1:55.4.

CLASSICAL JANE REPLAY

Owned by Eleven Star Stable, Frank Baldachino, Beasty and Backroad Stable, the filly has earned $39,905 with her first win in six outings.

The $66,000 second division held much more to form with Miracle Maven (Don’t Let Em-Bad Babysitter) cruising at 1-9 in front-end fashion with driver John De Long. De Long protected rail position off of the gate, guiding the field of five to the opening quarter in :29.3. The quintet remained in straight alignment to the half in :58.3 before Miracle Maven led to three-quarters unchallenged in 1:28.2. Sprinting home in :27.4, Miracle Maven coasted to a two length win over Swan Jewel (Trace Tetrick) to stop the clock in 1:56.1.

MIRACLE MAVEN REPLAY

The filly is yet to miss the board in six career outings, winning four of them for owners Eleven Star Stables, Frank Baldachino, Beasty, and Hillside Stables while banking $100,395.

The win was one of three on the card for driver John De Long, which included a 1:49.4 victory for Little Rocket Man (Rockin Image) in the $21,000 Open Pace. Overcoming post nine and a six-week layoff, Little Rocket Man soared up the passing lane in :26.2 from the pocket to score easily by two-lengths over Watching Out Coin N (Ricky Macomber Jr.) Trained by Ken Rucker, Little Rocket Man has won eight of 11 on the year including the $200,000 Battle Of Lake Erie in June. The win was the 62^nd in the career for the eight-year-old lifetime earner of $1.3 million for owners Russ Beeman and Jack Freeman.

LITTLE ROCKET MAN REPLAY

The week of racing concludes on Saturday (Aug. 24) with a 12-race card including a pair of Indiana Sire Stakes divisions for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings. First post on Saturday is 7:00 p.m.

For more information on the 2024 live racing season, guests are encouraged to visit www.harrahshoosierpark.com.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

From Harrah’s Hoosier Park