Harrah's Hoosier Park: Swan Good Bi fastest in Indiana Sire Stakes

Two-year-old trotting males, in their third Indiana Sire Stakes leg, headlined the Friday (July 31) night card at Harrah's Hoosier Park. So Joyful kickstarted the evening in the second race with a dominant display. Later in the night, Swan Good Bi was shot out of a cannon to win his split. Closing out the stakes action in Race 12, Nectar Of The Gods remained flawless in the sire stakes.

So Joyful, driven by John De Long for trainer Ernie Gaskin, impressed with a convincing victory in the $47,000 first flight.

Starting from the one-hole, So Joyful eased out of the starting gate as Ponda Solve (Trace Tetrick) glided from the outside post to the early advantage at the first quarter in 28 2/5. Neatly lined up along the backstretch, the field remained stagnant with Ponda Solve in the driver's seat through the halfway mark in 57 1/5. Temporal Power (Joey Putnam) was the first to react from fifth and went first-over on the far turn, but Ponda Solve stayed disciplined at the front as So Joyful stalked him from second at the three-quarters in 1:26 3/5. In the stretch So Joyful angled out, then breezed past Ponda Solve. From there, So Joyful never looked back as he left the eight-horse field in the dust to stop the timer in 1:55 1/5 and win by seven lengths. Kountry Dion (Kyle Wilfong) claimed second, while Temporal Power soared into third.

The victorious Rebuff colt is owned by All-Wright Racing LLC., Brian Code, and James Nellinger and was bred by Luckiana Farm and Aaron Stutzman. So Joyful added his second INSS victory of the season to boost his lifetime earnings to $51,030. So Joyful paid $5.60 to win.

Meanwhile, Swan Good Bi, driven by Jordan Ross for trainer Henry Graber Jr., laid it all out to take the field by storm in the $46,500 second division.

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From the far outside post seven, Swan Good Bi elected to settle at the back of the field with Tipsy in Vegas (John De Long) shooting out for the lead to the quartr in 28 1/5. Keeping the line straight, Tipsy In Vegas stayed in control to the half-mile pole in 57 3/5 with the field staying unchanged. Tipsy in Vegas led a tight ship with the field still in their same spot to the three-quarters in 1:26 4/5.

Despite the field staying calm through three-quarters, the homestretch told a different story as Swan Good Bi was still not in the picture yet. Mendoza Mafia (Atlee Bender), who sat in fourth and in front of Swan Good Bi, discovered another gear in hopes of adding his first win to his collection as he bombed his way past the leader in mid-stretch. Threading the needle between trotters, Swan Good Bi smashed Mendoza Mafia's hopes as he blazed to a final quarter time of 26 4/5 and reached the wire in 1:55. Mendoza Mafia settled for second, a neck back, while Tipsy In Vegas fell to third.

Swan Good Bi remained undefeated in his young career through three starts and brought his lifetime earnings to $52,250. The Swan For All gelding is owned by Indiana Stables LLC., Frank Baldachino, Michael Rosenthal and James Zito and was bred by Ernie Lambright.

In the $46,500 third and final split, Nectar Of The Gods, with trainer Mike Micallef in the bike, scored with a front-end victory to extend his win streak to three.

Away from post three, Micallef passed on the early to tuck and charged to the outside of Heffae (Lamar Wingard) as the pair raced together to the first quarter in 29 1/5. Nectar Of The Gods cleared on the backstretch, assuming command before the half in 59 2/5 as the field accordioned back together as the tempo slowed. Nectar Of The Gods remained in charge on the far turn, racing to three-quarters in 1:29 with Heffae beginning to tip from the pocket. Heffae took aim at the head of the lane and moved alongside the leader before Nectar Of The Gods responded with a 27 4/5 final split to fend off the challenger by three-parts of a length in 1:56 4/5. Priceless Help (Marcus Miller) was third, 3 3/4 lengths back of the winner.

Still perfect in stakes action after a runner-up effort in his career debut, Nectar Of The Gods has banked $72,500 for owners Bet The House LLC. Steve Jones bred the Temporal Hanover-Goddess colt.

Harrah's Hoosier Park welcomes millionaire On To Norway back to Indiana on Saturday in the $22,000 Open Trot. On To Norway returns to the Hoosier State coming off his victory in the Hambletonian Maturity back on July 11th. Additionally, the Saturday night 14-race card will feature the $7,500 guaranteed late Pick 4 and the $7,500 guaranteed late Hoosier High Five done in partnership with the USTA's Strategic Wagering Program. First post is set for 5:30 p.m. (EDT).

--edited press release (Harrah's Hoosier Park)--