Lauer looks live in Indiana-bred stakes
With 26 wins, including two stakes races, trainer Mike Lauer already has put together a successful 2016 season at Indiana Grand, and Lauer appears to have at least two live horses for the four $100,000 Indiana-bred stakes there Wednesday.
Lauer starts Whistle Stop, who is very much the 2-year-old filly to beat in the City of Anderson, and has Mister Pollard in the Brickyard for older sprinters. Lauer starts a third horse, Prodding, in the Hillsdale for 2-year-old males, which is race 5, the first of four consecutive stakes.
The City of Anderson is race 6, the Merrillville for older female sprinters is race 7, and the Brickyard is race 8. First post for the 10-race card is 2:05 Eastern, with the stakes scheduled to start at 3:57. The National Weather Service calls for a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms during the day.
Lauer, who also breeds and owns horses and got heavily involved in the Indiana program fairly early in its existence, has been kind to bettors at this meet. His $2 win return on investment stood at a robust $2.94 entering this week’s racing. Whistle Stop, who is a legitimate 6-5 on the morning line for the City of Anderson, won’t bump the ROI much higher, but Mister Pollard could win at a price in the Brickyard, which drew a very competitive field of 11.
One very good reason Mister Pollard appears capable is that he won this race last year by more than two lengths. Mister Pollard runs well enough in two-turn dirt races, but what he seems to do best is close into a strong pace going one turn, especially against Indiana-breds. He was last seen at Ellis Park on July 16, finishing a respectable fifth in the Don Bernhardt Stakes, and surely has been pointed to this spot all summer. He probably needs only a decent pace to materialize in order to win again – or come close. He should get it.
Sucess Is Racing, the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the Brickyard, probably is poised to run well but won’t offer the same value as Mister Pollard. The lightly raced but talented Academy Bay would hold some appeal at something like twice his 5-1 morning-line price, and while Bucchero is better on turf, he’s not out of the question on dirt.
Whistle Stop, meanwhile, is a Lauer project through and through, bred by Lauer and Penny Lauer, with the latter down as owner. The filly, by Into Mischief, ran a remarkable race when debuting July 1, winning by six lengths despite bolting at the end of the far turn and winding up nearer the outer rail than the inner. Whistle Stop took a couple rivals out with her and thus was disqualified, but she has pulled no such antics in winning two straight races since then and will be difficult to deny with a similar showing Wednesday.
Merrillville chalk vulnerable
Joyous Lady decisively won the Shelby County Stakes for Indiana-breds on Aug. 24 and, because of that, has been installed as the even-money favorite in the Merrillville. But that last race overstates her dominance in this division, and Joyous Lady, while an obvious contender, is likely to be overbet.
Joyous Lady doesn’t need to lead but prefers to show speed, and she is drawn inside some serious pace, including the confirmed front-runner Carmalley Chrome, who could drag her into a backstretch battle. It could pay to look beyond the obvious in the race, and that includes casting an eye toward Cactus Joe.
Cactus Joe might be a 30-1 shot on the morning line, but she also is the Merrillville’s defending champion. Cactus Joe’s form this year has been poor, but trainer Randy Matthews began racing her in blinkers two starts ago, and on Wednesday, Cactus Joe tries a sprint for the first time since adding the hood.
Several options in Hillsdale
A few 2-year-olds in the Hillsdale have shown enough during their brief careers to look like potential winners, but only one, Discreet Prospect, is a two-time winner.
Discreet Prospect debuted July 2 and rallied from fourth at the stretch call to first by a neck at the finish, and the two horses just behind him both came right back to win Indiana-bred maiden special weight sprints by open lengths. Discreet Prospect returned Aug. 16 and won an open, first-level allowance race by more than four lengths, and his tactical versatility should serve him well in a speed-filled field.
Ron needed three tries to win a maiden race but did so Aug. 31 by 14 lengths in a statebred-restricted maiden. He probably will be hard pressed, however, to repeat that performance while returning on relatively short rest in a clearly tougher spot.
