Hoosier: Two successfully defend titles

ANDERSON, Ind. - Marciann and Fight for Ally both successfully defended their titles in stakes races for Indiana-breds.

Marciann wore down front-running Heresyour Chickey to win the $43,100 Frances S. Slocum Stakes for fillies and mares by 2 3/4 lengths. It is her third win in as many starts at the meet. Marciann won the race last year as a 3-year-old, beating older horses.

With Terry Thompson aboard Sunday, Marciann shadowed Heresyour Chickey through splits of 23.44 seconds, 47.49, and 1:12.96.

Thompson urged Marciann to the front through a mile in 1:40.17, and she needed only mild encouragement to win. The even-money favorite in a field of eight, Marciann boosted her career bankroll to $232,746.

A race later, Thompson used similar tactics, helping James H. Stone's Fight for Ally draw off by 6 1/2 lengths in the $43,850 To Much Coffee Stakes at 1 1/16 miles. Fight for Ally was a 3-year-old last year when he won this race.

It was Fight for Ally's first win in four starts this year. The biggest surprise of the night came with the scratch of Red's Honor, a highly regarded 3-year-old who would have been a heavy favorite. Fight for Ally went off at 3-5 in the field of nine and paid $3.20.

Thompson finished the night with six Thoroughbred wins on the 11-race card, a feat he has accomplished four times this year. On Nov. 18, he set a local record by riding seven winners, including one last-minute pickup on a winning Quarter Horse. Through Sunday, Thompson had 109 winners at the meet, nine shy of the record held by Jon Court, with six nights of racing left.