Mogge has top contenders in statebred stakes

It’s fair to call the start of the 2018 Indiana Grand stakes schedule a soft opening.

The purses are rich enough in Wednesday’s first two stakes of the Indiana Grand meet, but the horses just aren’t very fast. That’s not surprising since both the $100,000 Sagamore Sires for 3-year-olds and the $100,000 Swifty Sired for 3-year-old fillies are restricted to horses sired by registered Indiana stallions.

That creates a very shallow pool of possible runners, but the day could be especially rewarding for trainer Wayne Mogge, who has the favorite – or close to it – for both races.

Mogge sends out Its Just Fate in the six-furlong Sagamore Sired (race 6, post time 4:25 p.m. Eastern) and Ideal Sky in the six-furlong Swifty Sired (race 8, post time 5:21). Both horses are listed at 7-5 on the Indiana Grand morning line.

The filly race looks tougher than the open race, but Ideal Sky should be up to the challenge. Drawn in post 1 with Jose Castanon named to ride, Ideal Sky should go straight to the front, much as she did in an April 27 allowance race, her first start of the year, on the way to a 7 3/4-length romp. Handicappers will of course note that Ideal Sky began her career last summer with a similarly dominant victory before failing to come close to reproducing it in a pair of subsequent stakes tries. Blue Hen Hockey, who probably wants to run farther, and Making Rainbows, a debut winner last out, appear to be the logical alternatives.

Its Just Fate’s 2017 campaign traced a similar arc, a pair of stakes flops following easy wins over maidens and entry-level allowance rivals. Its Just Fate finished second after setting the pace in his first start of 2018, but he was facing older rivals in a nonwinners-of-three allowance race and gets considerable class relief Wednesday. Mogge will try the gelding, by Skylord, with blinkers in this race.

Instant War and Mike the Man, both drawn inside, have the best chance to beat Its Just Fate, but Instant War has just enough speed to land in a difficult spot after breaking from the fence. Mike the Man crushed a field of maidens earlier this month while making his 3-year-old debut, but did so in a two-turn mile and showed less in two sprint races last season.