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Mo Faster Fastest in Gus Grissom
Mo Faster was the fastest to the wire in the 11th running of the $70,000 Gus Grissom Stake Sunday, Sept. 20. Ridden to victory by Fernando De La Cruz, Mo Faster was able to turn the tables on Unreachable Star, who defeated him by a nose in last year’s Grissom Stake.
Mo Faster and De la Cruz were out of the gate quickly to hold positioning on the inside as Jacks Are Lucky and Nelson Arroyo grabbed the first call for the lead. The duo headed into the turn together with Jacks Are Lucky getting the advantage down the backstretch. However, Mo Faster was never far behind, keeping track of every move from Jacks Are Lucky.
Heading into the turn, De la Cruz accelerated along the inside and in one stride had overtaken Jacks Are Lucky and began to use the inside path to his advantage to increase his lead. When the field was heading down the homestretch, Mo Faster had the jump on everyone. Several horses were on the move for the attack, including race favorite Unreachable Star, ridden by Hoosier Park’s leading rider Orlando Mojica. Unreachable Star split horses in a gallant effort to catch Mo Faster.
Mo Faster never let up in the lane. The five-year-old son of Moro Oro held steady to the wire, posting his second win of 2009 and his first career stakes win. Laz Has Risen and Rafael Hernandez moved up the inside for second over Unreachable Star for third.
“Fernando (De la Cruz) asked me what to do and I told him “catch me”,” said trainer Ron Brown. “We figured the seven (Jacks Are Lucky) would show speed, so Fernando just laid right off the lead. When the racing started, he was right there where it counted and held on.”
Mo Faster increased his career bankroll to more than $168,000 for owners Michael Thomas and Robert Beyers, who co-own the horse with Brown. Thomas, a retired grocer, and Beyers, who owns the store Mr. T’s in Fairland, Ind., are long time owners with Brown and own two other horses in his stable. The connections of Mo Faster claimed him for $6,250 at Indiana Downs last spring and have now earned four wins since they acquired him.
“This horse (Mo Faster) has been a joy to have,” said Brown. “He’s just been getting better and better. We've had a few problems with him lately and been fighting a quarter crack. He’s still not 100 percent but he was good enough today to get the job done.”
De la Cruz is competing in his third year of riding on the Indiana circuit. The native of Peru has been among the top 10 jockeys the past two seasons. De la Cruz is currently ranked third in the leading jockey standings, posting 32 wins through the first 39 days of racing for the 2009 meet.
