Rheinheimer Stable coming off career-best year

Harness racing trainer Matt Rheinheimer enjoyed a career-best year in purses in 2023, and two horses making their seasonal debuts this weekend in opens at Harrah’s Hoosier Park — older male pacer Yourwishisgranted (JK Endofanera-Onawish Hanover) and older female trotter Triathlon As (Trixton-There’s A Way) — were among the top contributors to the trainer’s success.

Yourwishisgranted and Triathlon As joined Indiana Sire Stakes 3-year-old female trotting champion Naturdays (Helpisontheway-Windsongmusclelady) to give Rheinheimer a trio of six-figure performers as his stable banked $633,740 last season. His previous money high of $366,904 came in 2015 when 3-year-old filly trotter Churita, who spent the season butting heads with future Hall of Famer Hannelore Hanover on the Indiana circuit, was the star of the barn.

“I had a super year, I cannot complain at all,” said Rheinheimer, a 49-year-old resident of LaGrange, Ind. “Any time you can win a sire stakes, that’s just great. The owners had their whole family there, and it topped off the year. You don’t get too many moments like that, so that’s got to be your highlight.”

Not far behind was Yourwishisgranted’s campaign, which saw the then 4-year-old pacer win five times at either the Open 2 or Open 3 levels at Hoosier Park in addition to finishing second to Hellabalou in the Lynn Wilfong Memorial Invitational and third behind Little Rocket Man and Ponda Warrior in the Indiana Sire Stakes championship for older male pacers.

For the season, Yourwishisgranted hit the board in 16 of 28 races, winning seven and earning $129,050.

“He had a great year,” Rheinheimer said. “I was very happy with what he did. Anytime you can be competitive with open horses in Indiana, you’ve got to be pretty proud of it. He had a lot of starts and there was nothing easy. He’s an ordinary horse and he just loves to race. Absolutely loves it.”

Yourwishisgranted was trained at ages 2 and 3 by Jay Cross before Rheinheimer took over in late October 2022, when the horse won the Circle City and a division of the Pegusus stakes. He has won 12 of 63 lifetime races and earned $288,335.

“Jay always told me he thought he could be something special,” Rheinheimer said. “He’s just that type of horse. Any horse that loves their work, you know you’re going to have a decent horse. He’s just an easy-going horse. He’s nice in the barn, he’s nice on the track. He’s one of those dream horses that you want to be around. But his biggest asset is he loves his job.”

Yourwishisgranted is owned by Ruby Huggins, who took over following the passing of her husband, Bill, in January 2023 at the age of 87.

“Losing Bill, for (Yourwishisgranted) to come out and race as good as he did, it was kind of a special thing,” Rheinheimer said. “Ruby was ecstatic, too, with the way he raced.”

Yourwishisgranted will open this season in Friday’s $22,000 Open at Hoosier, where he will leave from post four with driver Ricky Macomber Jr. in a field of six. He is 8-1 on the morning line and enters the race off a second place 1:55 qualifier on March 20.

“He’s been very good,” Rheinheimer said. “He’s done everything I’ve wanted him to do. It’s too bad we have to throw him in the Open for his first start, but that’s all right. We’ll get what we can get.”

Triathlon As makes her seasonal bow in Saturday’s $16,000 Open 3, where she will start from post four with driver Brandon Bates in a field of eight and is 5-1 on the morning line. Last year, she won six races and earned $106,460. Four of her triumphs came in either Open 2 or Open 3 events.

“She’s a nice and consistent mare and had a very nice year,” said Rheinheimer, who trains the 7-year-old trotter for owners Faron Miller and Every Day Stable. She enters her first 2024 start off a 1:56.4 qualifier win last week.

Rheinheimer, who has a stable of 15 horses now, said Naturdays would qualify sometime around the end of April, beginning of May. She closed out her 2023 campaign by winning six of her final seven races, culminating with the sire stakes championship.

For her career, Naturdays has won 15 of 26 starts and earned $339,665, with $275,820 of the money coming last season. She is owned by Alton Miller, Debra Miller, and Brackton Miller.

Racing begins at 6:15 p.m. (EDT) on Friday and 7 p.m. (EDT) on Saturday at Hoosier Park. For free daily Hoosier Park programs, visit the track’s website.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA