Harrah's Hoosier Park: Gaskin so happy for Indiana Sire Stakes finalist So Joyful

Ernie Gaskin is uncertain where the trip with 2-year-old colt trotter So Joyful may end up, but he is enjoying the ride.

So Joyful is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in Friday’s $250,000 Indiana Sire Stakes championship for freshman male trotters at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. He has finished first or second in seven of nine races this season, with five wins, and earned $126,203 for owners All-Wright Racing, Brian Code, and James Nellinger.

The son of Rebuff-Skateaway is eligible to the upcoming Breeders Crown at Eldorado Scioto Downs, and his performance Friday will likely determine whether trainer Gaskin and So Joyful make the trip to Ohio for the Grade 1 event.

“I said early in the going that he would have to put in a heck of a performance on finals night for us to consider it, but that’s not beyond the realm of things, that’s for sure,” Gaskin said. “I don’t know if he’s quite that caliber, but he may be. We’ve never really dug deep to dip into the bottom of the well, I don’t believe. We went about the whole process as a 2-year-old just trying to protect him. He’s a nice colt.”

So Joyful, from the first crop of stallion Rebuff, was purchased for $30,000 at the Midwest Standardbred Select Yearling Sale. He was Skateaway’s first foal and his family includes Breeders Crown winners Flirtin Miss and Pick Me Up.

“I was on to Rebuffs,” Gaskin said. “We looked at them all and I bought two Rebuff colts. He was the one we liked best. It was just the cross, the individual, the video, and the price range. We got him for $30,000, so it was right in our wheelhouse.”

So Joyful, who won four times in the preliminary rounds of the Indiana Sire Stakes series, has finished no worse than second in six consecutive starts. He has won three of his past four races, including a career-best 1:54 3/5 triumph at Hoosier on Aug. 22. All five of his victories this season have been by at least 2-3/4 lengths.

“It couldn’t be any better,” Gaskin said of the rookie’s campaign. “I thank (driver) John DeLong for a lot of that. He’s really taken care of him. (So Joyful) is good enough, quick enough, so that he can help himself a little bit here and there to get some position. He’s always been up close, and that’s been key for us. He’s drawn well, the whole year, so that’s also helped him.

“He’s just a quick little guy and we love him. He’s a really cool individual. We haven’t had to do much to him; he’s been real simple, beautifully gaited. He’s one of those that you really enjoy being around. He’s got a great attitude and a big heart. I think he’s going to grow into a really special horse. It’s always nice to be part of a special horse.”

So Joyful will leave from post 2 in Friday’s INSS final, with DeLong in the sulky.

The colt is one of four INSS finalist for Gaskin, with 3-year-old male trotter Inverness Ave, 3-year-old female trotter Dial Nine One One and 3-year-old male pacer Brookview Glider. Dial Nine One One and Brookview Glider are 20-1 morning-line longshots, but Inverness Ave is the 9-2 second choice in his championship.

Inverness Ave, a son of Helpisontheway-Arvika, has hit the board in 16 of 20 races this year, winning seven, and earned $172,040 for owners Theodore Engel, Douglas Shore, and Ernest Gaskin Stables. He has three victories in the Indiana Sire Stakes, and a career-best 1:51 triumph in a Kentucky Commonwealth Series division at the Red Mile on Aug. 31. Only seven sophomore male trotters have been faster this year.

For his career, the $20,000 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale purchase has finished in the top three in 22 of 31 races, with nine victories and $236,585 in the bank.

“As a 2-year-old, we had to sit and wait on him a little bit, but he trotted in (1):54 (in a third-place finish in a Kentucky Sire Stakes at Cumberland Run) at the end of the year in Kentucky and gave us the indication that he could be what we’d hoped had everything gone his way. This year, he came back and things have really gone his way. He won in (1):51 down in Lexington, which put him in a little rare air. He’s been great for us at 3.

“We’re hoping to have some good luck with him too (on Friday). The others are just hoping to get checks. I just want them to race well and represent themselves good.”

Inverness Ave will leave from post 1 with Kevin Lambright in the sulky. Tuggin Thomas, who has won three of his past four starts, is the 2-1 morning-line choice in the field. Trace Tetrick will drive for trainer Ricky Macomber Jr., leaving from post 4.

Racing begins at 5:30 p.m. (EDT) Friday at Harrah’s Hoosier Park for the all-Indiana Sire Stakes card. The $250,000 finals for 2- and 3-year-olds are races 6 through 13.

The morning-line favorites in the remaining $250,000 events are 2-year-old filly trotter Redice (2-1, driver Atlee Bender, trainer Erv Miller), 2-year-old male pacer Mr Bear (3-2, Marcus Miller, Erv Miller), 2-year-old filly pacer Era Dominance (2-1, Tim Tetrick, Michael Hitchcock), 3-year-old filly trotter Fresh Face Yankee (2-1, Jay Cross, Jay Cross), 3-year-old filly pacer Somemore Blue (9-5, Marcus Miller, Erv Miller) and 3-year-old male pacer Swiss Lights (3-1, Trace Tetrick, Jeff Cullipher).