Contreras, Esquivel combine to sweep Richmond and Gus Grissom stakes
Expect Indy made it easy and Operation Stevie cut it close, but in the end those two horses gave trainer Cipriano Contreras and his nephew, jockey Manny Esquivel, a sweep of two six-figure heavily restricted stakes races Wednesday at Indiana Grand.
Expect Indy won the $103,300 Richmond Stakes by five lengths and a race later Operation Stevie was home by a head in the $104,400 Gus Grissom. The same two horses swept these stakes in 2018. Both races are open to Indiana-bred and -sired horses, with the Richmond restricted to fillies and mares.
Operation Stevie ($4) moved on pace-setting Mystery Unbridled at the top of the homestretch like he meant to romp in the Gus Grissom, but Operation Stevie has a limited run in two-turn races and Mystery Unbridled fought him to the wire, with the favored Operation Stevie just edging away late. Operation Stevie ran 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:47.02 as the top two pulled three lengths clear of third-place Here Comes Doc. Double Tuff and Mystic Tiger were scratched.
Operation Stevie, a 7-year-old gelding by Lantana Mob out of Mutakkdim’s Revenge, by Mutakkdim, was claimed by Contreras and co-owner Earl Trostrud for just $10,000 during the spring of 2016 and since has won 14 races, three stakes, and over $600,000 for those connections.
Expect Indy ($4.80) overpowered even-money favorite Unbridled Class at the top of the stretch as Esquivel, who hangs his tack at Parx Racing, made an early bid to test Unbridled Class’s stamina. Unbridled Class had made a clear early lead at a moderate tempo but couldn’t come close to sticking with Expect Indy and only held second by a nose over Fireball Baby.
Expect Indy stopped the timer in 1:47.37 for 1 1/16 miles over a fast track while winning for the 11th time in 36 starts. Owned by the Gumpster Stable, Expect Indy is a 6-year-old mare by Mr. Mabee out of Jet ‘n Expectations, by Valid Expectations. She was claimed for just $7,500 in March 2018 at Laurel and has since won three six-figure restricted stakes races in Indiana.
