Hoosier Park: Always A Prince lowers track record, On Duty takes Indiana Sires Stakes final

Indiana’s top 3-year-old pacing colts were the featured attraction at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino as they squared off the final round of preliminary stakes action on Friday, September 14.

After sitting out of the eliminations last week, divisional leader Always A Prince returned to the track in a big kind of way in an $18,000 Indiana Sires Stakes Eligible event. With regular pilot Trace Tetrick in the bike, Always A Prince powered home a winner in 1:48 3/5 to score his third consecutive victory and lower his own track record in the process. Always A Prince established the previous mark of 1:48 3/5 in Indiana Sires Stakes action earlier this season.

The track record performance served as a prep race for his next start as Always A Prince is expected to be supplemented to take on Grand Circuit company in the $175,000 Jenna’s Beach Boy Pace. The Jenna’s Beach Boy Pace will be part of the star-studded card slated for Friday, September 21 at Hoosier Park that will also feature the $200,000 Caesars Trotting Classic, the $175,000 est. Hoosier Park Pacing Derby, and the $125,000 Elevation Pace.

Tetrick took no chances and sent the overwhelming favorite to the front just after the first quarter in 26 1/5. Always A Prince strolled through fractions of 53 3/5 and 1:21 1/5 before he began to put his talent on display. With a six-length lead at the top of the stretch, Always A Prince was in a race against the clock and used a 27 2/5 final panel to coast on to the wire under a hand drive from Tetrick.

“We entered him in a race last week and it didn’t fill so we missed the sires stakes eliminations,” trainer Tyler George said after the victory. “The Jenna’s Beach Boy fits well with his schedule, and it ended up working out for us to get a race this week so we are looking at supplementing. He deserves a shot.”

With the victory, Always A Prince has now won 14 of 17 lifetime outings and has only finished out of the money twice in his career. Unraced as a 2-year-old, the gelded son of Always A Virgin-Glorious Princess pushed his lifetime bankroll to $196,500 for owners Carl & Melanie Atley. The victory was also one of six victories on the program for Hoosier Park’s leading driver Trace Tetrick.

Tetrick found the winner’s circle just a few races later in the featured event of the evening, the $75,000 Indiana Sires Stakes Final for 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings, behind the 8-1 upset winner, On Duty. Uninvolved in the early stages of the race, On Duty utilized a 26 4/5 final panel to surge past his rivals late in the lane to secure the win in a new lifetime best of 1:49. Trained by William Crone, the gelded son of Rockin Image-Lady Luck Killean recorded his second win of the season from 12 outings. With the win, On Duty pushed his lifetime purse earnings over the $100,000 mark for owner John Barnard.

There were also a pair of $20,000 Indiana Sires Stakes eliminations for 3-year-old pacing fillies on the card, and they were won by It's Time For Fun in 1:51 3/5 for driver Todd Warren and trainer Brett Wilfong, and Voom Or Bang in 1:52 for driver John De Long and trainer Roger Welch.

--press release (Hoosier Park)--