High Dollar Woman wires field in Indiana Oaks

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. – High Dollar Woman, running the race of her life, skipped over the slop and never was headed in winning the Grade 2, $206,900 Indiana Oaks by one length over Sweetgrass on Saturday night at Indiana Grand.

High Dollar Woman might well have been so named by owners Alex and JoAnn Lieblong because she cost so much, fetching a winning bid of $675,000 at the OBS March 2014 sale of 2-year-olds in training. And until Saturday night, that looked like a vast overpay for this chestnut daughter of Super Saver, out of Melissa Jo, by Fusaichi Pegasus.

Once last summer, in her second start at Saratoga, High Dollar Woman flashed great potential, winning a maiden race by 1 1/2 lengths, an effort that produced a 2-year-old graded stakes-class Beyer Speed Figure of 90. But High Dollar Woman didn’t race again until Nov. 21, finishing third in a Laurel Park allowance race at odds of 1-2. She won a one-mile Parx Racing allowance race, went to Oaklawn, ran a distant fifth in the Martha Washington, and was done for that meet, moving from the barn of Tony Dutrow to Steve Hobby upon shipping to Kentucky this spring.

Hobby ran her once here at Indiana, and High Dollar Woman finished a decent second in a second-level sprint allowance, but Mitzi Hobby, Hobby’s wife, who saddled the filly Saturday, said Hobby was enthused at how High Dollar Woman came out of that race and had been pointing her to the local Oaks all along.

And it was that kind of day for Steve Hobby, who won the $50,000 Don Bernhardt at Ellis Park late Saturday afternoon with Bagg O’Day. While he was hauling that horse back to Churchill, jockey Joe Rocco hopped on a private plane, landed at Shelbyville Airport in sight of the track here, and piloted High Dollar Woman to victory.

“I thought [All Day Alice] would go to the lead, but she didn’t, and my filly was just there, doing it pretty easily,” Rocco said.

Sweetgrass chased in second all the way around through even splits of 24.21 seconds, 48.04, and 1:12.32, drawing within a half-length at the stretch call, but High Dollar Woman saw her off and won decisively, running 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.29 and paying $32.40 to win. Oceanwave, the 2-1 favorite, was bogged down at the rail much of the race and rallied decently for third, beaten 2 1/4 lengths by Sweetgrass, once tipped to the outside. The second choice Ahh Chocolate stalked inside just behind the leaders and came home evenly for fourth.

Ulanbator narrowly wins Schaefer

Ulanbator got a perfect trip under Julien Leparoux and won the $103,150 Michael G. Schaefer by a nose over onrushing Geothermal.

The Mary Ann Charlston homebred, a 4-year-old colt by Offlee Wild, out of Ashapoo, by Petionville, won his first stakes while tallying a victory for the fifth time in 18 starts. Third in the Dwyer, fifth in the Jim Dandy, and eighth in the Travers last summer at Saratoga, Ulanbator has been plugging along steadily under the tutelage of trainer Ian Wilkes and made the most of a good spot Saturday as the 5-2 favorite.

Ground Transport and Joy Boy hooked up on a speed duel, getting their half-mile in a testing 46.66, while Leparoux and Ulanbator waited in third for the pace battle to take its toll. Joy Boy put away Ground Transport before the stretch but was quickly taken on by Ulanbator, who came home just well enough to hold clear a strong finish from Geothermal, who rallied from seventh and just missed. Class Leader finished another three-quarters of a length back in third. Ulanbator paid $7.60 to win and was timed in 1:41.01 for a mile and 70 yards in the slop.

Cabana lasts in Marie Hulman George

Cabana, another first-time stakes winner, took down the $102,600 Marie Hulman George by a neck over Call Pat.

Cabana pressed the pace on the outside under Luis Quinonez, edged to the lead in upper stretch, had a 1 1/2-length lead at the stretch call, and lasted over Call Pat, who came flying home on the outside after racing a distant last most of the trip.

An Illinois-bred by Flatter, out of Sobrasaliente, by El Prado, Cabana is trained by Donnie Von Hemel for owners Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch. She paid $6.80 as the second choice and ran a mile and 70 yards in the slop in 1:43.98. Indiana-bred longshot Sweet and Wicked set the pace and held for third, while the 3-2 favorite Unbridled Explosion checked in fifth.