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Hoosier Kingdom Dominates in Hoosier Sophomore
Hoosier Kingdom showed his dominance in the first running of the $70,000 Hoosier Sophomore Stakes during Indiana Derby Day Saturday, Oct. 3. The three-year-old son of Repent bested a full field of 12 Indiana breds to earn the honor.
Under the direction of jockey Victor Lebron, Hoosier Kingdom broke quickly, but encountered some early road trouble and experienced some bumping in the first few strides. After all horses got their footing, Hoosier Kingdom moved up on the outside and found a spot to rest in as Presidential Ball and Manny Cosme led the way to the first turn. Crafty Scout and Rafael Hernandez tracked closely on the outside as Hoosier Kingdom kept both of them in his sights through the first half of the one and one-sixteenth mile event.
A big move was detected by Hoosier Kingdom around the far turn and when the field had straightened away for the finish line, he was in full gear. He began to pass his competition with every stride and posted a two and one-half length advantage at the finish line. Brickyard and Corey Lanerie split horses in the turn to move up for second followed by Tenmor and Leandro Goncalves for third.
“He (Hoosier Kingdom) was a little tough in the gate,” said Lebron. “He came out aggressive and bumped some other horses, so I just let him find his spot and relax. I hoped we could sit and wait to make one big move in the stretch. It worked out perfectly, and he responded just like I thought he would.”
The stakes win was the first in six tries at Hoosier Park for Hoosier Kingdom. Owned by Keith Wexler, Brian Reed, and Ron Herrell, he won back to back stakes wins at Indiana Downs earlier in the season. Hoosier Kingdom is now five for 10 in 2009 with earnings nearly topping the $200,000 mark. Herrell also trains.
“A friend told me about this Indiana bred in the sale at Ocala,” said Herrell. “We went down to see him and ended up buying him. The ironic thing is he (Hoosier Kingdom) was bred and raised about six miles from us here in Indiana.”
Since arriving at the Herrell barn in February, Hoosier Kingdom has shown a lot of ability. After winning two stakes at Indiana Downs, one of which was on the turf, he was taken to the Grade I $400,000 Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park on the turf. Although he led the way to the stretch, he tired and finished back.
“This horse (Hoosier Kingdom) is a pleasure to be around,” said Herrell. “He has run over all types of surfaces from sloppy tracks to the turf and handles it all well. We have really enjoyed racing him and he’s got quite a following now.”
