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Fraser Inspires Thoroughbred Names
Cliff Fraser, Hoosier Park’s track handicapper, will be noticed in a new way at Hoosier Park Racing and Casino this season. Owner Ron McKay has named two horses after him, and both have already displayed their talents over Hoosier Park’s seven-eighths mile oval.
“I thought we would surprise him (Cliff) with the names when we got up here, but he found out,” said McKay. “I think Mike (Nance) spilled the beans. When you name a horse after someone, you want it to race well, but you have no idea what they will be. Just in case one wasn’t very good, I thought the other one might be better, so we just named two of them after Cliff.”
Cliff’s Longshot was the first out of the gate Thursday, Aug. 13 in his first career start in maiden special weight action. Ridden by Rodney Prescott, the two-year-old chestnut son of Black Moonshine is a full brother to Tawny Two Swan and Order A Moonshine, who was a winner on the same card Thursday. Trained by Nance, “Longshot” is quite the entertainer in the shed row.
“This colt (Cliff’s Longshot) is just like he looks in his picture,” said Nance. “He’s definitely the class clown. He’s always looking for stuff to get into. If he was a school kid, he’d probably spend half of his time in the principal’s office, probably a lot like Cliff did.”
Cliff’s Best Bet stepped onto the track for his first career start Saturday, Aug. 15, also running in maiden special weight company with Prescott. However, the two-year-old bay son of Black Moonshine possesses a different attitude and demeanor in the barn.
“We call Cliff’s Best Bet “Cliff” around the barn,” said Nance. “He is very professional and has always trained well. In fact, I thought he was the best of the Indiana-bred two-year-olds I had before we got up here. He is a brother to Very Clear, who raced up here last year as a two-year-old and finished second in two maiden races before he hurt himself. But before that, we thought he showed a lot of promise. We think “Cliff” the horse has a lot of potential.”
Fraser has taken a special interest in his namesakes. He has tracked their progress almost daily and kept up with all the details leading up to their first starts.
“I feel like I’m training for two people now,” said Nance. “Cliff asks more questions about them than Ron does. I ought to send Cliff a training bill too at the end of the month.”
