Harrah's Hoosier Park: Sandbetweenmytoes shocks at 203-1 in Breeders Crown 3YO Colt Pace

In one of the greatest stretch drives you'll ever see anywhere, Tall Dark Stranger fought off seemingly every horse in the $500,000 Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old Colt Pace final, but he couldn't see Sandbetweenmytoes on the far outside, and the 203-1 Sandbetweenmytoes, who was next-to-last at three-quarters and the longest shot on the board, got up before the wire to win in the biggest upset in Breeders Crown history. The final time over the Harrah's Hoosier Park oval was 1:48 3/5.

Cattlewash (David Miller) was intent on the lead early, and Miller put him under urging past the start to establish control and force Warrawee Vital (Tim Tetrick) into the pocket. The opening quarter was registered in 25 3/5, and it was past that marker that Tall Dark Stranger (Yannick Gingras) went from third to first. The tempo remained fast after Tall Dark Stranger hit the top, though, as the half went on the board in a sizzling 52 3/5.

Around the far turn Tall Dark Stranger was unchallenged as No Lou Zing (Dexter Dunn) was making a slow advance in the first-over slot out of fourth, and that meant Gingras could get his charge a bit of a breather over to the three-quarters in 1:20 3/5. However, the action picked up in a hot and heavy fashion in the lane as Tall Dark Stranger was unable to separate from the field and horses fanned out in an attempt to get by him.

Despite appearing vulnerable, Tall Dark Stranger dug in determinedly like he always does, and he was able to keep No Lou Zing, Cattlewash, and a host of other pursuers at bay through the stretch. However, Sandbetweenmytoes, who had raced back in ninth from post eight and then joined the cover flow fourth-over going to three-quarters, was surging out widest where Tall Dark Stranger couldn't get a look at him, and a 26 2/5 last quarter propelled Sandbetweenmytoes to the win by a neck. Tall Dark Stranger was gallant in a runner-up effort, followed by Cattlewash, Save Me A Dance (Andrew McCarthy), and No Lou Zing. The entire field was separated by just 4 1/2 lengths at the finish.

"I'll start back to last week, Scotty got off the bike, and he said 'I know the video probably doesn't show it, he goes, but this is the best this horse has ever raced for me.' He paced home in 25 3/5, and I think almost the whole field paced home in 25 and a piece. I took a lot from what Scotty said," said winning trainer Jim Campbell. "He was real happy with the way he paced home. He had a good week, and before the race Scotty and I talked it over, and from where we were at, we just had to hope for a hot pace up front. We got it, and Sandbetweenmytoes took advantage of it. He dug right in and he did what his mother did when she was a 3-year-old. She won a Breeders Crown, and I know Jules (Siegel of Fashion Farms LLC.) is sitting at home proud because he owned Galleria and Sandbetweenmytoes. Jules, congratulations. You deserve it.

"I wasn't confident until they flashed his number up because I watched one angle, and I thought maybe we had a shot, and then I saw another angle and I thought 'oh, no way.' Watching the race live, I couldn't tell. There was a few other people who were in the race around standing beside me, and they didn't know either. It was tight. He just happened to be going the right way right at the wire to get his nose out in front."

A gelding by the late Somebeachsomewhere, Sandbetweenmytoes was also bred by Fashion Farms LLC. From 25 appearances, Sandbetweenmytoes now has a record of 8-4-2, and he has earned $516,532. He returned $409.80 to win.