Page 172 - August 2021

RACING NEWS
Indiana Grand QHRAI Derby
WRS MOONIN THEWAGON
by Michael Compton
WRS Moonin Thewagon registered his sec- ond stakes score in the $112,240 Indiana Grand QHRAI Derby at Indiana Grand on June 28.
Piloted by his regular rider Samuel Mendez, WRS Moonin Thewagon raced in fourth posi- tion away from the starting gate in the 400-yard event. With a determined run through the lane, the gelding prevailing by a neck at the finish. WRS Moonin Thewagon
stopped the timer in :20.050,
earning a speed index of 91.
With his win streak dating back to 2020, WRS Moonin Thewagon has now won 5 of 7 lifetime starts. The $61,732 winner’s share of the purse increased his career bankroll to $165,928 for owner/breeder Williams Racing Stables and trainer Randy Smith. It was the second stakes triumph
for the Kentucky-bred who
Jaguar Rocket Futurity
also annexed the Governor’s Stakes at Indiana Grand last October.
While WRS Moonin Thewagon is as con- sistent as they come, Mendez shared following the win that the journey wasn’t entirely smooth.
“When he broke, I hit him with my left hand and he veered in,” said Mendez, who has partnered with the gelded son of Moonin the Eagle in all his career starts. “I got him
straightened out and tapped him with my right hand and he took off. This horse runs his heart out every time. He’s always steady in every race.”
“You can’t hardly beat the PYC mares,’ shared Randy Williams of Williams Racing Stable in regard to his charge’s dam, WRS Quick Wagon, by PYC Paint Your Wagon. “We have his full brother at home and he’s gray, too. We will have Randy pick him up this
fall. The happiest day of the whole year is the day Randy backs his trailer up to our barn and picks up the yearlings.”
Paint Me Brown (PYC Paint Your Wagon- Brown Eye Suze) was second under Uriel Cervantes for owner Porfirio Carrasco and trainer Jose Aguirre. CC Moonflash (First Moonflash-CC Kachina Eagle) and jockey
Luz Martinez were third for for owner
Pamela Brickley Hann and trainer Anthony Cunningham. Followed by Jess Over Yonder (Apollitical Jess-Wyld Bleu Yonder), Cartel Creek (The Louisiana Cartel-Rawhide Creek), AA Storm the Mozoomo (Mo Zoomo-Grace the Storm), Shez Bodacious (Bodacious Dash- Gotta Money Pop), Apollitical Tools (Apollitical Jess-No Tools Required), and Jess Good Reason SA (Good Reason SA-Jess Like Vegas). Julias Dazzle and Lone Cartel were scratched.
1/2-lengths for trainer Ron Raper. Mr Michel (Kiss My Hocks-
Lovemelikethat) and jockey Jose Beltran originally finished fourth after being bumped and forced in at the start and was promoted to third following the DQ. The sorrel gelding is owned by Alberto Valdez and was bred in Indiana by Mark Michel. Claudio Barraza conditions the gelded son of Kiss My Hocks.
Carters Law (Carters Cartel-Zoomin Zoey B) was disqualified from first and placed fourth. Stoney Beach (Brimmstone-Coco Beach), Tooyahbooya DHD (Capo De Capi- Boo Yah Too Yah), All Star Beach (Escondido Beach-Flashin Dee Dee), Bye Bye B Train (Freighttrain B-Bye Bye Corona), Ravin Stone (Brimmstone-Beach Bride), and DNA Secret Fighter (Hez Our Secret-Dnachrystalsfighter) completed the order of finish.
Indiana Grand
$112,240 • 400 yards :20.050 • si 91
One Famous Eagle
Moonin The Eagle
Your First Moon
WRS MOONIN THEWAGON, ‘18-g.
PYC Paint Your Wagon
WRS Quick Wagon
WRS Quick Sister
PAINT YOUR LEGACY
by Michael Compton
Strength in numbers worked in trainer Randy Smith’s favor in the $131,600 Jaguar Rocket Futurity at Indiana Grand on July 24. The conditioner sent out three of the 10 runners in the 300-yard event, and after his charge Carters Law crossed the wire first in the 19th running of the race, the horse was disqualified for interference at the start and the original runner-up, Paint Your Legacy, also from Smith’s barn, was elevated to the victory.
Paint Your Legacy broke from the far outside in post position 10 and raced in third position early under Berkley Packer. He rallied strongly through the lane and chased his stablemate Carters Law, who led wire to wire, across the finish line, falling short by 1-length. The bay gelding covered
the distance in :15.640 and earned a speed index of 91.
The $72,380 winner’s share of the purse increased his earnings to $82,760.
It was the second victory from five career outings for Paint Your Legacy, who oddly enough was placed first through a dis- qualification in his trial heat—the first win
of his career—on July 3. Paint Your Legacy
is a Duke Racing LLC homebred out of the Separatist mare Miss Inseperable. He was bred in Indiana.
Zack James (Ivory James- Romped), who crossed the wire third, was raised to
the place spot following the disqualification. Ridden by Shanley Jackson, Zack James racing in second position early and faded a bit late but held third for the Cleary Family, the owner and breeder of the Indiana-bred colt. Zack James registered the initial win of his career in taking his trial heat by 1
Indiana Grand
$131,600 • 300 yards :15.640 • si 91
Corona Cartel
PYC Paint Your Wagon
Dashin Follies
PAINT YOUR LEGACY, ‘19-g. Separatist
Miss Inseperable
A Delightful Legacy
170 SPEEDHORSE August 2021
Coady Photography Coady Photography