The trainer Rob Dobbs never had won more than two stakes races in a calendar year, but he already has three this year after sweeping a pair of rich Indiana-bred stakes Wednesday at Horseshoe Indianapolis. About 35 minutes after Temple Paynter posted a mild upset in the $200,000 First Lady Handicap, a dirt route for 3-year-old fillies that she won by the barest of margins, heavily favored Chicory Blaze circled foes on the far turn and scored a popular 2 1/4-length victory in the $250,000 Governor’s Handicap, brother race to the First Lady. Dobbs trains the homebred Temple Paynter for Jim Edgar, former governor not of Indiana but Illinois. Dobbs spent many years in Chicago as a key assistant for the successful trainer, owner, and breeder Christine Janks before striking out on his own in 2013. He has carved out a solid niche since settling down at Horseshoe Indianapolis, and his 21 winners and about $968,000 in stable earning during 2024 marked career bests. It's fair to say, though, that Dobbs never had a day like Wednesday, when his two stakes starters earned purses totaling more than $260,000. Dobbs came into Wednesday with 2025 stable earnings of about $433,000. A lucrative late afternoon, indeed. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Temple Paynter, now a two-time winner from eight starts, made just her second two-turn dirt start in the First Lady, and, frankly, looked beat with 30 yards remaining. After slugging it out through a strong pace and dispatching front-end rival Seeyouinabit partway around the far turn, Temple Paynter doggedly put daylight on her 11 rivals in upper stretch, with jockey Evin Roman riding for all he was worth. In pursuit, G Force Jimmie dove down to the fence for a final move past the furlong pole and had more momentum than Temple Paynter. After slipping inside the leader, G Force Jimmie might have poked her nose in front for one stride, but Temple Paynter dug back in, got a good bob, and came out atop a tight photo. Spooky Ridge, rallying wide, finished another half-length back in third in a race where neither of the two favorites, Hot Middles and Royal Justice, made any impact. Temple Paynter ran one mile and 70 yards over a fast track in 1:43.56 and paid $15.80 as the third choice while carrying 118 pounds in a race termed a handicap but weighted – as was the Governor’s – like an allowance. Temple Paynter is by Paynter out of the Temple City mare Lady Temple, another Edgar homebred. Chicory Blaze, a Joseph Hickman homebred, came into the Governor’s with credentials strong enough, evidently, to make him a surprisingly short 11-10 favorite in a field of 12. Chicory Blaze is by Alternation out of Lady Blue, by Fed Biz, and Dobbs clearly regarded the colt as a route horse from the start. Chicory Blaze debuted last year going one mile and has made all five of his starts around two turns. Narrowly defeated in a dirt route allowance to start his 3-year-old campaign, Chicory Blaze scored a last-out win in the $100,000 Snack, an Indiana-bred grass mile, before returning to the main track for a career-best in the Governor’s. Jockey Rodney Prescott let Chicory Blaze settle in eighth and seventh around the first turn and halfway down the backstretch before pushing forward into better position before the second bend. Moving wide and smoothly, Chicory Blaze cruised toward contention at the three-furlong marker, nearly reached the leaders in upper stretch, and by the furlong pole built a 1 1/2-length lead. Sir Bahjy, also moving wide while following Chicory Blaze’s far-turn surge, finished with interest for second, not close to the winner but 1 1/4 lengths clear of third-place Rapid Justice. Chicory Blaze ran one mile 70 yards in 1:42.46 and paid $4.40, but nobody had a bigger payday Wednesday at Horseshoe Indianapolis than Dobbs. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.