Corningstone could be making final Indiana start in Fireball Baby
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Corningstone is set to make a Wednesday afternoon appearance at Horseshoe Indianapolis, where she’s 1-9 to have a race named in her honor in the future.
She’s the all-time leading earner among Indiana-bred fillies and mares and she’s won stakes races at her home state track in 2022, 2023 and 2025.
Corningstone also will be a short price Wednesday. She runs in the $55,000 Fireball Baby, a 1 1/16-mile overnight handicap for fillies and mares bred in Indiana. It could be Corningstone’s final local appearance, as the 5-year-old earner of $879,728 is likely in the twilight of her career.
“I think she’s going to run to the end of the year, maybe a little in the early winter,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “We’ll see. I see her being bred this spring.”
Corningstone made Indiana-bred history in her last start, when she won the $150,000 Piedi Bianchi on Oct. 1 at Horseshoe Indianapolis. She surpassed the race’s namesake, Piedi Bianchi, in earnings to set a new bar for fillies and mares bred in the state.
Overall, the record Corningstone has compiled in winning nine races from 28 starts and finishing second six times and third five times has helped lift her to third on the overall all-time leading earner list in Indiana.
Corningstone trails only Bucchero, who retired to stud with earnings of $947,936, and Strong Tide, who earned $910,639 and has a race named for him on the card Wednesday.
Corningstone was a 2 1/4-length winner of the Piedi Bianchi and the Beyer Speed Figure of 80 that she earned is the best last-race number in the Fireball Baby.
Joseph Bealmear, who was aboard Corningstone last out, has the mount from post 6.
“She’ll probably lay second, third in this race,” McPeek said.
Corningstone is 5 for 8 over the local main track, with four of her six career stakes wins coming in Indiana. She won the Miss Indiana in 2022, captured two local stakes when going 3 for 4 here in 2023, was stakes-placed in Indiana from one local start in 2024, and won the Piedi Bianchi in what was her first start of the meet in 2025.
“She’s consistent, hard-trying,” McPeek said. “She’s a really hard tryer.”
Corningstone is a daughter of Kantharos who races for Payson Stud and RTA Trust.
Others set to start in the Fireball Baby include Louder Than Words, who ran second in the Piedi Bianchi.
C.J.’s Storm will be looking for his second straight stakes win at the meet in the $55,000 Strong Tide, an overnight handicap for 3-year-olds and up bred in Indiana. It will be run at 1 1/16 miles.
Mike Lauer, the co-breeder and trainer of Strong Tide, will be represented by Mowins, who was an allowance winner at the distance in his last start on July 1 at Indiana. Mowins races for Lauer’s wife, Penny, co-breeder and owner of Strong Tide.
The Strong Tide drew a full field of 12.
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