Harrah's Hoosier: Somebodyslilly scores fifth straight victory

Somebodyslilly and Genie Rockwell were the winners of the pair of $32,000 sections of the fifth leg of Indiana Sires Stakes action for 3-year-old pacing fillies on Friday night at Harrah's Hoosier Park.

Driven by Mike Oosting, Somebodyslilly brushed from third to first in the backstretch in the opening flight, clearing as they raced past a 55 second half. Somebodyslilly fought off a first-over bid from Foxy Rigger (Trace Tetrick) around the far turn and into the lane, and held sway over a surging Grace Rocks (Joey Putnam) in the late going, winning by a quarter of a length in 1:50. Maggie Rhee (Ricky Macomber Jr.) got third.

"I decided I didn't want to push her too hard, so I waited until the quarter to move her down the backside," Oosting said. "Someone would've had to really challenge her to get by at that point. She seems to be really finding herself right now. I'm hoping that she continues to race this well."

A daughter of Time To Roll, Somebodyslilly is trained by Eli Schwartz, who also bred and owns her. This was her seventh win from 17 starts, and she has now earned $130,100. She paid $2.20 to win as the 1-9 favorite.

Priceless (Brandon Bates) ripped off testing fractions of 27 2/5, 54 2/5, and 1:22 in the other division, but Genie Rockwell (James Yoder), who followed along in third for the first three-quarters of the mile, kicked home in 26 2/5 to charge by for a 3 1/2 length verdict in 1:49. Mystical Carrie (Tetrick) was second after a pocket trip, and Priceless wound up third.

"The trip worked out great for her, but I did have to ask her to pace in the stretch," Yoder remarked. "She's a lot better with faster fractions in front of her. She can be a bit of a handful with a lot of sass, but she's an absolute sweetheart when she wins a race; she definitely knows when she wins a race."

Yoder also trains the winning Always A Virgin filly for owner/breeder Marlin Fry. Genie Rockwell now has a record of 5-3-5 from 18 efforts, and she boosted her bankroll to $104,455. She was sent off at 7-1 and returned $16.20 to win.

--quotes courtesy of Harrah's Hoosier Park)--