Harrah's Hoosier Park: De Long, Dunn dominate Indiana Sires Stakes finals

Drivers John De Long and Dexter Dunn had the hot hands on a rainy Friday night at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. De Long captured three $250,000 Indiana Sires Stakes Super Finals and a pair of $70,000 finals, while Dunn bagged two Super Finals and a final.

De Long's first trip to the winner's circle came with Tabby De Long-trained Lets Go Endofaera, who worked out a second-over trip from the outside post nine in the 2-year-old filly pace Super Final and charged home in the stretch to tally by a length and a quarter in 1:53 3/5 as a 5-1 offering. Lyin' Eyes (Joey Putnam) towed the winner into contention from first-up and came in second, and All JK (Trace Tetrick), the leader at the 27 4/5 quarter, 56 4/5 half and 1:25 1/5 three-quarters, checked in third.

"I wanted to throw up (when the draw came out). She's a very good horse. I just thought if I could get away and get out in the flow, she likes a target," John De Long stated post-race. "Tabby works awful hard on her. She's a very, very tough horse. She's very mean. I won't lie, she's very, very mean. She puts up with her and Tabby loves her. That's all that matters."

A daughter of JK Endofanera, Lets Go Endofaera is owned by breeder Jesse De Long and co-owners John De Long and William De Long. She has a summary of 5-2-1 from ten starts, has put away $284,900 and returned $13 to win.

De Long overcame post nine again with Helpfirstedition in the 3-year-old male trot Super Final, prevailing in 1:53 3/5. Helpfirstedition was able to slide down in fifth and watched as Ponda Jet hit the quarter in 26 3/5. De Long got Helpfirstedition moving first-up before the 56 2/5 half and was in a joint second at three-quarters, which Ponda Jet hit in 1:25 4/5. In the stretch Helpfirstedition was able to wear down Ponda Jet, went by him inside the final eighth, and drew clear to defeat fellow Missy Essig trainee Texsong Soprano (Mike Oosting) by 3 1/2 lengths. Ponda Jet held on for third.

"Ponda Jet's a good horse, so just be patient, that's the biggest thing," De Long quipped about his strategy. "Don't get in a hurry around the last turn and hopefully I had enough to last."

Essig trains Helpfirstedition, a gelding by Helpisontheway, for owners Ervin Wickey, John Graber, Running Wild Stables and John Schmucker. Bred by Martin Wickey, Helpfirstedition was unraced as a 2-year-old, but so far in 2023 he has seven wins, seven seconds and two thirds from 18 starts to go with a bankroll of $382,375. Helpfirstedition returned $9.80 to win as a 7-2 shot.

"We felt pretty strong. The nine-hole was kind of not so good, but John's whipping these nine-holes left and right," Essig said. "Texsong trained awesome this week, so I'm ecstatic."

De Long's huge night continued in the Super Final for 2-year-old pacing males as Tellmeitmatters prevailed in 1:51 4/5. De Long was able to squeeze out from third past the 27 second opening quarter and wrestled the top spot away from Noblesville (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) prior to the 55 second half-mile station. De Long was able to steal an easy third quarter of 29 1/5 to get to three-quarters in 1:24 1/5, and that gave him something left when Noblesville popped to the outside in the lane, as he was able to keep him at bay by half a length. Play Action Pass (Trace Tetrick) snatched third.

The Roger Welch-trained Tellmeitmatters is a Tellitlikeitis gelding bred by owners William C. and William P. De Long. He's won half of his ten trips behind the gate, has earnings of $229,750 and returned $8.00 to win as a 3-1 shot.

In the $70,000 older mare trot final, Swans Eye and De Long got up inside the final eighth from the two-hole and won in 1:55 2/5. ER Kim (Brad Ferguson) closed well to get second, a length behind the winner, and favored Jusmakinyalook (Jordan Ross), who led through a contested tempo of 28, 56 1/5 and 1:25 4/5, had to settle for third. Trained by owner Rocco Fava, the victorious 4-year-old daughter of Swan For All has 11 lifetime triumphs, has stashed away $206,501 and returned $14.80 to win.

De Long then closed out the finals by winning the $70,000 horse and gelding pace with Little Rocket Man in 1:49 2/5. He swept from the pocket to the point en route to the 54 3/5 half and wouldn’t be passed from there, keeping clear in the lane from closers Ponda Warrior (Kyle Wilfong) and Yourwishisgranted (Ricky Macomber Jr.) to tally by 2 1/4 lengths. A 7-year-old millionaire gelding by Rockin Image, Little Rocket Man is trained by Ken Rucker for owners Russell Beeman and Jack Freeman. He has been victorious on 51 occasions and paid $4.20 to win.

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Trainer Tyler George swept the exacta in the 3-year-old filly pace Super Final and gave Dunn his first Super Final victory. Tell's On A Roll and Dunn took charge past the 26 2/5 quarter, went on to the half in 55 seconds, gained separation on the others racing to the 1:22 2/5 three-quarters, and kept clear through the lane to win by 3 1/4 lengths in 1:50. Rollin Rosie (Tetrick) was mired in a dull flow third-over from post nine but finished full of pace to get second and Walkin On Sunshine (Jay Cross) grabbed third.

"Obviously I'd never sat behind her but she's been racing good all season and Tyler was very confident and happy with her," Dunn offered. "She post paraded great. I was really happy with the way she felt. Once we got back to the front, she was grabbing ahold of me. Rollin Rosie came at us late, but we had enough of a break to get home."

By Tellitlikeitis, Tell's On A Roll is owned by Engel Stable of IL LLC., Lou Willinger and T G Stable LLC. Tell's On A Roll snagged her seventh triumph, has pocketed $294,006 and paid $7.40 to win as a 5-2 offering.

"As easy as she got to the front, and he had her well wrapped-up, I thought she was going to be alright," George added.

Dunn's second Super Final champion was Why Not Now in the 3-year-old colt and gelding pace. He popped out of the pocket to take command beyond the 26 3/5 quarter and maintained it through a 54 4/5 half and a 1:23 3/5 three-quarters. In the stretch Why Not Now was confronted by a first-up Buzzsaw Russ (John De Long) on the outside and pocket-sitter Coach Stefanos (Tetrick) on the inside, but he was unwavering and downed Coach Stefanos by a quarter of a length in 1:49 4/5. David Allan Whoa (Joey Putnam) was up for third.

"Yeah, he's had a great month, but really he's had a great year. He hasn't been off the board all year long," remarked winning trainer Dylan Davis. "He's really sharp and he's proud of himself. He's won a couple, so I thought if the fractions weren't too steep with what he's been through (he could win)."

Davis also co-owns Why Not Now, an Always A Virgin colt bred by Dustin Miller, with partners Howard Taylor and Jeffrey Billings. Why Not Now has a summary of 8-6-4 from 23 career starts, has now pocketed $505,630 and returned $3.20 to win as the 3-5 choice.

The $70,000 mare pace went to 1-5 favorite Kobe's Gigi and Dunn in 1:50 3/5. After sitting third from post nine through opening-half splits of 27 1/5 and 55 2/5, Dunn angled Kobe's Gigi out first-up en route to the 1:23 1/5 three-quarters. In the lane Kobe's Gigi blew past leader Rockin Nola (Joey Putnam) and pulled away to a three length win over Maggie Rhee (Jordan Ross). Ever A JK (Trace Tetrick) was third. Kobe's Gigi, a 5-year-old JK Endofanera mare trained by Missy Essig for owners Leander Schwartz and Black And White Stable, posted her 13th tally, has put $542,391 in the bank and paid $2.40 to win.

Three-year-old trotting fillies started the festivities in their Super Final, and Naturdays (Matt Krueger) rallied off dull cover through the lane to get up and win by a length and three-quarters in 1:53 2/5. Swanya (John De Long) was the runner-up after closing from eighth in the final panel and Yo Beth D (Lewayne Miller), who carved out fractions of 26 4/5, 55 3/5 and 1:24 3/5, wound up third.

"I definitely was hoping to get a second-over trip tonight. I got her fronted along and thought I was in a decent spot, then my cover didn't carry me," said Krueger. "Like last week, we were off seven lengths at the three-quarter pole and we won by two, so I had all the confidence in her."

Naturdays is a daughter of Helpisontheway trained by Matt Rheinheimer for owners Alton Miller, Debra Miller and Brackton Miller. Bred by Mervin Lehman, Orla Bontrager, John Lengacher and Black Creek Farm, she is a 15-time winner in her career, has banked $339,665 and returned $3.20 to win as the 3-5 favorite.

"She's been a blessing this summer. She stays good," remarked Rheinheimer. "You couldn't ask for a better filly. She takes care of herself, she's nice to be around and she loves her work. She has a heart of gold. She'll do anything you ask her to do."

Trainer Rick Plano finished 1-2 in the $50,000 final for trotting horses and geldings, with 15-1 shot Toy's For You (Luke Plano) getting up from the pocket for a 1:52 win over Flagman (Rick Plano driving). Dover In Motion (Ricky Macomber Jr.) collected third. Rick Plano also owns Toy's For You, a 7-year-old Airzoom Lindy gelding who picked up his 25th career victory. He has banked $277,844 and paid $33.60 to win.