Harrah's Hoosier Park: Swan Good Bi defends his home turf in Peter Haughton Memorial
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Swan Good Bi and Jordan Ross trotted past the 2-5 favored Presidente in deep stretch to capture the $475,100 Grade 1 Peter Haughton Memorial at Harrah's Hoosier Park on Friday night, winning for the sixth consecutive time without defeat in a 1:53 2/5 mile. The son of Swan For All had been dominant against the best horses on the Indiana Sire Stakes circuit in advance of the Haughton and now earned a spot in this year's Breeders Crown final for 2-year-old male trotters with the victory.
Ross had Swan good Bi on the gate and away quickly, moving to the front before the field hit the opening bend. Presidente, with Scott Zeron, pushed to control before the snappy 27 1/5 opening quarter with Dream Shaq parked but not gaining with Dexter Dunn. Dunn settled Dream Shaq into a spot along the pylons, and that allowed Zeron to rate the second quarter to a pedestrian 30 seconds with no outer flow to challenge his position.
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The pace picked up from there as Dream Shaq was again on the move at the half, with Big Time Trot S and Southern Hanover following his cover. The outer flow did not advance with much power as Presidente clicked three-quarters in 1:25 1/5 and appeared to open ground on Swan Good Bi and Ross.
Zeron remained active behind Presidente in the stretch as Ross angled his horse and bore out some through the long Harrah's Hoosier Park homestretch. Swan Good Bi, trained by Henry Graber Jr., found his top gear in the late stages and surged past to win convinciningly. Presidente had to settle for second with Yankee Boss closing strongly with Tim Tetrick for third. Ponda Cheetah and Big Time Trot S completed the top five.
"He's been really good all year," said Ross. "I thought Scotty's horse (Presidente) could carry me and he did. He's a nice little horse."
Swan Good Bi had not raced competitively in nearly a month but showed no rust at all with another solid performance. As a 9-2 offering Swan Good Bi returned $11.40 to win. Owned by Indiana Stables LLC., Frank Baldachino, Michael Rosenthal and James Zito, Swan Good Bi has pushed his first year earnings above $300K with the win.
"He had an issue with his shoulder," said Baldachino. "It was pretty minor, but it was something that had to be taken care of. Henry (Graber Jr.) did a great job getting it taken care of and getting him back in training."