Indian Pride shows plenty of fight to win Shine Again

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Indian Pride completed a natural hat trick as well as a stakes double for trainer Chad Brown after coming back from being headed twice in the final five-sixteenths of a mile to register a hard-fought and well-deserved half-length decision over Blamed in Friday’s $85,000 Shine Again at Saratoga.

Indian Pride’s game performance came on the heels of a pair of one-two finishes for Brown in the previous two races, starting with Viadera’s narrow victory over Noor Sahara in the De La Rose and Lady Lawyer’s popular tally at the expense of stablemate Olendon under allowance conditions in the following event.

Indian Pride entered the seven-furlong Shine Again as the least experienced member of the field, with two wins in only three previous starts on her resume. But she performed like an old pro Friday.

With Javier Castellano aboard, Indian Pride took the lead shortly after the start, setting the pace while kept slightly removed from the inside rail. Indian Pride briefly relinquished her advantage to Joy Epifora leaving the five-sixteenths marker, repulsed the challenge upon settling into the stretch at which point she was engaged by Blamed to her outside.

Blamed stuck her head in front approaching the furlong grounds, but Indian Pride fought back a second time while racing nearest the rail at this point, regaining command before starting to edge away at the end.

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Kentucky invader Risky Mandate raced well placed but could not menace the top pair, finishing another three lengths further back in third.

Indian Pride is a 4-year-old homebred owned by Brereton Jones. A daughter of Proud Citizen, she completed the distance over a fast track in 1:21.63 and paid $6 as the tepid favorite in a field of nine older fillies and mares.

“Another great ride by Javier, he kept her off the fence a little bit and let her do her thing out in the center of the track,” Brown said. “But what about the heart the filly showed? Most fillies would have given up. Give all the credit to her. She got headed twice and showed what she’s made of today. I’m really proud of her. She’s always shown immense talent. When she broke her maiden here last summer, it was breathtaking. She’s had some bumps along the way in terms of interrupted schedules and such, but now she’s in good form with two straight races under her belt, and hopefully, I’ll have her for the full season.”

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As for his big day and strong start to the meet, he also won the Peter Pan on opening day, Brown reiterated some of his sentiments from the previous afternoon.

“I’m appreciative for the wins, but it’s sad with no friends, family, or fans here,” Brown said. “But I think everyone is starting to get their head around that and now we can move forward.”