Page 172 - September 2015

Blue River Derby
BEACH CARTEL
by Tracy Gantz
Beach Cartel didn’t initially take to his early breaking and training lessons. But owner- breeder Sheri Miller of Shipshewana, Indiana,
a former trainer herself, gave him the time that he needed, bypassing his two-year-old season.
Her patience paid off when Beach Cartel captured the $122,700 Blue River Derby on Aug. 1 at Indiana Grand Race Course.
“He was a lot of horse when he was younger,” said Miller. “We gelded him as a yearling because we knew he was going to be like that. But once he was broke, he was a dif- ferent horse.”
Trainer Randy Smith provided another piece of the puzzle that has led to Beach Cartel’s success. Smith began training Miller’s horses this year. Miller gave up training three years ago, not only because Shipshewana is
far from the racetrack, but also because her husband suffered a heart attack and to raise her daughter.
“It’s hard to hand over the reins,” stated Sheri Miller. “But, we’re doing good together. I have a lot of respect for those people. They work really hard and put a lot of time into the actual horse.”
Beach Cartel qualified the fastest for the Blue River Derby during the July 11 trials and went off as the 3-2 favorite in the finals with Juan Guerrero aboard.
Hand Of Doom, the second-fastest qualifier, became fractious in the gate and had to be scratched.
After the horses were reloaded and the gate opened, Beach Cartel and Stinkin Rich came out in excellent fashion from post positions two and three, immediately battling with each other.
Several horses in the
outside post positions bumped quite a bit, but didn’t bother Beach Cartel or Stinkin Rich.
Beach Cartel pulled away several strides from the wire and had a 1/2-length lead at the first call. He increased his lead to 3/4-lengths by the top of the stretch and held on to win by that same margin in :20.126 for the 400 yards.
“He (Beach Cartel) started out rough, but a light came on as a three-year-old and he hasn’t backed up since,” said Smith.
“He’s a good keeper, and he gets the same care as the rest of them,” the trainer continued. “But, I have to credit my help. You can have the best horse in the world, but without good help, you won’t get far.”
Guerrero has ridden Beach Cartel in three of his five races and won each time—in Beach
Cartel’s racing debut, when he won a maiden race by 2-lengths, and in the Blue River trial and final. With another rider, the gelding ran second in an allowance race and third in the Harley Greene Derby, both won by Hand Of Doom.
“Juan is part of that good help in the barn,” said Smith. “He is there every morning at 5 a.m. and works very hard.
We go to a farm in Florida during the winter and he breaks all the babies, so he has been with this horse since the very beginning.”
Miller not only bred Beach Cartel in Indiana from her mare Flashin Dee Dee, she also stands the sire, Escondido Beach, as well as another stallion, Brimmstone.
Both stallions did well at Indiana Grand on Aug. 1—Brimmstone is the sire of WH Design By Dash, who won the Leader Of The Class Stakes on the same card.
Miller used to train for Bobby Cox, who bred and raced Flashin Dee Dee, and she bought the mare from him. Flashin Dee Dee is the dam of Beach Cartel. All five of the mare’s starters have won, including Beach Runner, who captured the 2015 Indiana Downs Classic Stakes. The mare has a 2015 colt by Palm Beach and is back in foal to Escondido Beach.
Carolyn Bruce’s homebred Stinkin Rich (One Famous Eagle-Miss Scarlet) ran second for jockey Shanley Jackson. Matt Frazier trains the gelding, who won the 2014 Miss Roxie Little Futurity and Jaguar Rocket Stakes.
Roy Moore bred and trains third-place Ms Fool Me Once (Escondido Beach- Foolininthemeadow TB) for owner Robert Loudermilk. Cristian Esqueda rode the filly, who had won back-to-back races prior to the Blue River Derby final, including her trial.
Rock Crushin Dynasty (FDD Dynasty- Saratoga Jo) and HF Dashin Jojo (Dashin Bye-Mary Jo Mito) finished fourth and fifth. Zoom Zoom Ava (Azoom-Easy Dashing
Gal) ran sixth but was disqualified to last,
and was followed across the wire by DNA Dales Quick Cat (Quick Action-TB-Chrystal Dale), Interfector (Volcom-Shake It First), and Absolut Teller (Teller Cartel-A True Stoli). Cant Catcha Corona, Feature This Fury, and Hand Of Doom were scratched.
Indiana Grand Race Course $122,700 • 400 yards :20.126 • si 91
Corona Cartel
Escondido Beach
Six On The Beach
BEACH CARTEL, ’12-g.
First To Flash
Flashin Dee Dee
Runaway Dee Dee
Beach Cartel & Juan Guerrero score a 3/4-length victory in the Blue River Derby
170 SPEEDHORSE, September 2015
RACING NEWS
Linscott Photography