News
Wild Choice Wins QHRAI Derby
Wild Choice and Noe Garcia were the quickest to the wire in the 13th running of the $75,000-added QHRAI Derby Saturday, Oct. 10. The duo crossed the line in a time of :19.963 to establish a new track record for the 400-yard distance.
Wild Choice broke clean out of the gate, but did not emerge as a contender for the title until halfway through the race. In the final strides, the three-year-old daughter of A Regal Choice rallied past her opponents to take the win by one-half length. BP Sothern Mariah and Rodney Prescott finished second over The Signature Cartel and David Pinon for third.
“We bought her (Wild Choice) after her last start at Los Alamitos,” said trainer Loren Brocka. “We thought she was bred pretty good and she had been running in some tough races out there. Since we got her back to our farm in Iowa, she has turned out to be a really good buy. She’s low maintenance.”
Brocka, who also scored a win with Wild Choice in the trials, is now two for two at Hoosier Park. He and his father, Laurence, ran a Thoroughbred at Hoosier Park several years back, but this trip to Indiana turned out to be more profitable.
“I’m a fourth generation horsemen,” said Brocka (pronounced Bro-kay.) “I’ve had my license since 2004. We have both Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds on our farm near Cedar Falls, Iowa. We mainly race at Prairie Meadows, but also race in Nebraska and Minnesota also.”
Wild Choice will return to the Brocka farm for a little break and some time off. With two wins in two starts for 2009, she increased her career earnings to more than $50,000 for owner Francisco Vega, who owns a produce business in Chicago. Jockey Noe Garcia was also making his first appearance at Hoosier Park.
“We called Noe (Garcia) through a friend,” said Brocka. “He had ridden a horse for my father several years ago, and when Julie (Veltman) couldn’t ride our horse in the final, we gave him a call to come up and ride.”
Garcia and Wild Choice will go in the record books at Hoosier Park Racing and Casino. Their time established a new track record, beating the old record set by Quickflyin Elin in a time of :20.04 set earlier this season.
