C. J's Storm has speedy pair to chase in Nobody Listens Handicap
?q=100)
C. J’s Storm might get the right kind of setup Wednesday when the closer faces speedsters Goldwyn and Goodlookinjustice in the $100,000 Nobody Listens Handicap at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
The six-furlong race is one of two stakes on the card. The $100,000 Checkered Flag Handicap is for fillies and mares at the same distance. Both races are for 3-year-olds and up bred in Indiana.
C. J’s Storm, who was the Indiana Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association’s champion sired aged horse of 2025, brings a strong kick into the Nobody Listens field of 10.
“There’s lots of speed in there,” said John Haran, who co-owns and trains C. J’s Storm. “He likes to sit a little bit off the pace, then turning for home he’ll be sort of turning on those afterburners and try to run them down. He’s got that quick turn of foot for about a quarter.”
Goldwyn has wired his rivals in his last two starts, both allowance wins at Indianapolis. Goodlookinjustice, who won three straight races on the front end last season, will be making his first start since November. The field also includes Latigo, who won last year’s Nobody Listens.
C. J’s Storm is coming off a runner-up finish in the $100,000 William Henry Harrison on June 3 at Indianapolis.
“He was closing real fast,” Haran said. “Another couple of jumps and he would have had [the winner]. But he came out of the race in good form. He’s looking sharp, so I think we should be there or thereabouts, hopefully.”
Haran, who races C. J’s Storm with Janet Watt and Charles Watt, is the current leading owner at Indianapolis and was tied for second in the track’s trainer standings through Sunday, according to Equibase.
“It’s been my base for the last seven, eight, nine years,” Haran said. “I bred a lot of Indiana-breds over the years, but I kind of got out of the breeding business when I sold my farm and I just kind buy at the sales now. I’ve got a couple of breeders who I buy from in Indiana, as well. The Indiana program is fantastic.”
C. J’s Storm will start from post 6 under Amir Mendoza.
Checkered Flag
Imagine the Moon can go over $500,000 in career earnings with a strong performance in the Checkered Flag. She will be seeking her fifth stakes win, and enters the race with earnings of $479,751.
Imagine the Moon will break from the widest post in the field of 11. She came up the rail to win the $100,000 Shelby County Handicap by two lengths in her last start June 3 at Indianapolis.
Imagine the Moon has tactical speed, and could get a tracking trip off a handful of runners situated to her inside. Rodney Prescott has the mount for trainer Tony Duran.
Hot Middles, who won the Corningstone Handicap over Imagine the Moon in May, seeks her third straight win at the meet Wednesday.
The Kid Pataky finished in a dead heat for second in last year’s Checkered Flag.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.