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Lone Star Cowboy Wins Hillsdale
Lone Star Cowboy was the lone horse in the photo finish for the 10th running of the $70,000 Hillsdale Stake Sunday, Sept. 13. Orlando Mojica, Hoosier Park’s leading jockey, guided the two-year-old Indiana-bred to victory in his first trip over Hoosier Park’s oval.
The last of seven horses to enter the gate for the Hillsdale Stake, Lone Star Cowboy broke well for Mojica and was in contention from the first few strides. The son of Western Outlaw was game between Flylikabird and Rafael Hernandez to the inside and You Already Know and Jesse Garcia to the outside. Halfway down the backstretch, You Already Know took control and led the field into the turn.
In the stretch, Lone Star Cowboy only had one horse to catch. You Already Know continued to lead the way on the inside until mid stretch. Lone Star Cowboy then took over and rallied home for the win by five lengths. You Already Know finished a comfortable second while Lucky Chuck and Leandro Goncalves moved up for third.
“I just tried my best to get him (Lone Star Cowboy) out of the gate clean,” said Mojica. “He is a real nice horse to ride and I appreciate the opportunity that the owners and trainer gave to me today. I have to give credit to my agent (Jim McNerney) too for getting this call for me.”
Trained by Joe Petalino, Lone Star Cowboy earned his second win in five starts. His effort at Hoosier Park marked the third different track he has raced over, finishing second in the $75,000 Middleground Stake at Lone Star Park two starts back. He increased his bankroll to more than $55,000 with his first stakes win in the Hillsdale Stake. Baccari Racing Stable owns Lone Star Cowboy.
Lone Star Cowboy completed the five and one-half furlong race in a time of 1:03.4. He paid $4.40 to win as the race favorite.
Indiana bred two-year-old colts and geldings will return for their next matchup in the $70,000 Indiana Futurity set for Sunday, Oct. 11, running at a distance of six furlongs. Two-year-old colts and geldings will also be featured in the $70,000 Crown Ambassador Stakes set for Saturday, Oct. 24, which is the final day of racing for 2009.
