Hard Luck Justice should dominate against own age group
Hard Luck Justice has proven to be the dominant 3-year-old Indiana-bred at the current Indiana Grand meet and on Wednesday he will get back to racing in his division in the $100,000 ITOBA Stallion Season Stakes.
The one-mile race is for 3-year-olds who are either registered Indiana-breds or are by eligible stallions. The stakes shares a card with its counterpart for 3-year-old fillies, the $100,000 ITOBA Stallion Season Fillies.
Hard Luck Justice faced older rivals in his last start, finishing second in the $150,000 To Much Coffee on Oct. 6 at Indiana Grand. Earlier in the meet, he won the $150,000 Governor’s for 3-year-olds by 8 1/2 lengths on Aug. 4; a second-level allowance by 9 1/2 lengths on July 20; and the $102,000 Hoosier Breeders Sophomore Stakes by 6 1/4 lengths on June 23.
“I told a buddy of mine the other day, he’s the Indiana-bred Secretariat,” said Lonnie Hinds, who trains Hard Luck Justice for Joselyn Salazar.
Hard Luck Justice is 1-5 on the morning line for the ITOBA Stallion Stakes. He chased pacesetter Bayou Cat in the To Much Coffee run in the slop, and earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 87. The number is 21 points higher than the next-best Beyer in the field Wednesday, a 66 put up by Rockin All Night.
“He ran a good race,” Hinds said of Hard Luck Justice. “He got down on the rail early, and got out and just got beat. I’d like a fast track, but he handled the [wet] track.
“He’s just a good horse. He’s easy to train. Almost a perfect horse to train. He has a wide, broad head, and I always liked a horse that has that. He’s easy to handle. He’s good around the barn.”
Hard Luck Justice drew post 5 in the field of eight for Wednesday. Samuel Bermudez is the horse’s regular rider and will again be aboard the versatile son of the Harlan’s Holiday stallion Harry’s Holiday.
“He can run up close,” Hinds said. “We saw that the other day. And he likes to come from behind.”
Bermudez might also be aboard the favorite in the ITOBA Fillies. He rides Tuckyourtaleandrun, a daughter of Run Away and Hide coming off a two-length allowance win Aug. 26 at Indiana Grand. Prior to that start, Tuckyourtaleandrun was a good fourth in the $150,000 First Lady of Indiana stakes on Aug. 4. She will break from post 9 in the field of nine for co-breeder and trainer Mike Lauer.
The chief threat could be Amazing Girl, who is coming off an allowance win over 7 1/2 furlongs on turf on Sept. 14 at Indiana Grand. She also is a winner on the local main track.