Taking a chance on Sabonis pays off

John Miller considers himself “pretty lucky” when it comes to standout Indiana pacer Sabonis (Tellitlikeitis). Miller purchased Sabonis as a harness racing yearling for $9,000 at the 2022 Midwest Mixed Sale and has watched the colt develop into a multiple Grand Circuit winner and potential Breeders Crown participant in the two years since then.

Owned by Miller’s wife, Pat, and trained by Aaron Stutzman, Sabonis has won 17 of 19 career races and earned $480,200 as he prepares for Friday’s $250,000 Indiana Sire Stakes championship for 3-year-old male pacers at Harrah’s Hoosier Park.

Sabonis, whose victories this year include the Carl Milstein Memorial and Jenna’s Beach Boy on the Grand Circuit, will bring a 13-race win streak to his INSS final. The colt is not eligible to the upcoming Breeders Crown at The Meadowlands, which will host eliminations for all 3-year-olds on Oct. 19, but the plan is to supplement the colt to the event for $72,000.

“You dream about something like this, but you don’t think it will ever happen,” Miller said. “When I bought him as a yearling, I didn’t even know if he would ever race, but I thought he looked good and had a pretty good pedigree. I thought I’d take a chance on him. That’s something that nobody else wanted to take.

“I guess I’ve been pretty lucky. It’s very special.”

Sabonis raced twice as a 2-year-old, finishing third in his debut at Hoosier Park before winning a race for Indiana Sire Stakes eligibles in gate-to-wire fashion in 1:55.1. His season ended there because of health issues and needing more time to mature, but he returned this past April with a 1:52.1 victory by four lengths in the first leg of the Mark Fransen Memorial conditioned series at Hoosier.

“That kind of opened our eyes to what we might have,” said Stutzman, who drove Sabonis that night before turning the lines over to Joey Putnam the rest of this season. “He came home in :25.4 and I was just sitting on him.

“I knew there was something there, but I didn’t know it was this kind of horse. It’s not that we weren’t impressed, but we were just kind of going from one race to the next.”

And with the exception of a second-place finish in early May, all Sabonis did while going one race to the next was win. The son of Tellitlikeitis-Gypsy Bellevue posted his best time of 1:48.2 in the second leg of the Indiana Sire Stakes in June at Hoosier Park and totaled seven triumphs in the series.

His victory in the Milstein was perhaps his defining moment so far. Sabonis was fifth through the first three-quarters of a mile and needed to make up nearly seven lengths from there. He got the job done, winning by 1-1/2 lengths over Timeisonmyside in 1:50.3.

“All of his wins have stood out to a certain extent, but in the Milstein, going into the last turn he was fifth and took a bad step,” Miller said. “I thought he was going to make a break, but he didn’t. When they came out of the turn, he was competing for the front, and I couldn’t hardly believe it.”

Said Stutzman, “I’d have to say the Milstein was my favorite so far, with as far back as he was going to the three-quarter pole and to still come back and beat them.

“He’s having an awesome year. It’s been fun. He’s a nice versatile horse. He’s well-rounded. You can put him on the front or race him from behind. That’s just the type of horse he is. And he’s laidback. He acts like he doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.”

Miller said Sabonis’ demeanor is one of his best qualities.

“He’s gentle,” Miller said. “The girl that takes care of him (Leah Schlabach) said she will give him something to eat after cleaning his stall, and he’ll just come over and put his head on her shoulder. He’s very gentle.”

Of course, the ability to go fast also helps.

“I’ve never had one with the speed that he’s got,” Miller said. “I’ve got to put in a good word for Aaron. He’s done a hell of a job with him.”

Sabonis will start Friday’s INSS final from post three in a field of 10. He is the 4-5 morning-line favorite. Last year’s champ, Tellmeitmatters, is the 9-2 second choice from post six with John DeLong driving for trainer Roger Welch.

If all goes well Friday, the plan is for Sabonis to continue his campaign with a trip to New Jersey for the Breeders Crown. The purses for all 3-year-old finals are $600,000.

“I have to buy into it, but it’s pretty good money for the Breeders Crown,” Miller said, adding about the supplement fee, “I might be silly, but I’ve been silly before I guess. I might regret it, but you only go around once. So far, he’s been able to hold his own with everyone. We might never have another one like him.”

“The Lord blessed us in getting him,” Pat Miller said.

Harrah’s Hoosier Park will host 12 Indiana Sire Stakes championships Friday night. For free programs, visit the track’s website.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA