Hoosier Park: Grand Swan keeps rolling in Sire Stakes

Despite soggy weather conditions and a tough outside post nine, Grand Swan turned in another dominant performance to capture the featured event of the evening, the $75,000 Indiana Sires Stakes Final for 2-year-old trotting fillies, at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Tuesday, August 21. With driver LeWayne Miller in the bike, who also trains the freshman filly, Grand Swan used a sharp, front-running effort to score the victory in 1:57 1/5 over a sloppy rated track and extend her win streak to six in the process.

Miller wasted no time and sent Grand Swan to the front but she would have to work for position as a host of others also left for position. Verlin Yoder and Kissesforall were the first to get a call through the opening panel in 28 3/5. Measuredperfection and Ricky Macomber Jr. were content to grab a pocket seat while Pink Tulip and Doug Rideout were next in line third.

Grand Swan grabbed command just before the second station in 59 1/5 and continued to call the shots uncontested through the three-quarters in 1:29 1/5. As the field turned for home Sam Widger had Kota’s Swan applying pressure first-over and she was quickly matching strides with the leader. Miller asked his mount for more and Grand Swan dug in gamely, putting together a 28 final quarter to get the win by a length. Kota’s Swan had to settle for second while Kissesforall held on to round out the trifecta. As the 4-5 favorite, Grand Swan returned $3.60 to her backers at the betting windows.

“She always fools me a little bit,” Miller noted after the victory. “She’s so laid back so it’s hard to tell how she feels but she loves to fight them off. I had to ask her a little bit when we turned for home but I knew she would fight them off if she could. She’s getting better and stronger with every start.”

With the win, the daughter of Swan For All-Queen Mum recorded her sixth seasonal win from eight lifetime outings. It was the sixth consecutive victory for Grand Swan as she pushed her career earnings to $145,125 for owners Grand Swan Racing, Go Fast Stable, and Never 2 Late Stable.

Indiana Sires Stakes action will continue at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Wednesday as they play host to the $75,000 Indiana Sires Stakes finals for the 3-year-old trotting fillies and 2-year-old pacing fillies. The evening’s 13 race card will also offer several signature wagering opportunities.

The Pick-4, Pick-5 and Hoosier High-5 all went unsolved on Tuesday’s program and will feature carryovers for Wednesday’s program. Along with the regularly scheduled $20,000 Guaranteed trifecta in Race 10, Hoosier Park will also offer a $20,000 Guaranteed Pick-5, with a carryover in excess of $6,000. The Pick-4, which is featured in Races 3-6, will be kick-started by a $3,881.36 carryover while the Hoosier High-5 will be highlighted in the last race of the evening with $4,006.91 in carryover money up for grabs. For more information on the upcoming entertainment and live racing schedule, please visit www.hoosierpark.com.

-edited release (Emily Gaskin for Hoosier Park)