Rigney-Bauer team goes 1 for 2 in Wednesday stakes
Owner-breeder Richard Rigney and trainer Phil Bauer lost the $103,300 Swifty Sired Stakes with odds-on favorite Fireball Baby, but a race later won the $104,200 Sagamore Sired Stakes with Snicker Cookie, who ran right past odds-on favorite Ace of Aces at the furlong pole.
Both races were for Indiana-bred and -sired 3-year-olds, with the Swifty Sired restricted to fillies.
Put Fireball Baby’s defeat down in least in part to bad luck. Away a bit slowly from post 1, Fireball Baby raced in tight most of the Swifty Sired’s last half-mile while victorious Marilyn Mongo got a clean outside run under Rodney Prescott to prevail by a neck. Late-running Vivian bridged the gap in the final stages but ran out of space and finished second, 1 ½ lengths in front of pace-setting First Lady Maggie. Fireball Baby got hemmed in three furlongs out and again at the quarter pole, and was blocked the final furlong while trying to sneak up the fence in a very tough trip.
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Marilyn Mongo ($7.60) made one forgettable start as a 2-year-old for owner-breeder Nick Kurlas, but the Mike Maker barn took over training duties this year and Marilyn Mongo easily won an Indiana maiden race before capturing the Swifty Sired. Marilyn Mongo, by Mondavi out of Marigo, by Wando, was timed in 1:11.87 over a sloppy, sealed surface.
Snicker Cookie needed no excuses for Rigney and Bauer in the Sagamore Sired. Making his first start since Nov. 7, Snicker Cookie stalked the pace while racing outside under Gabriel Saez, ranging up to Ace of Aces, who led from the start at odds of 3-10, in mid-stretch and quickly pushing past. Snicker Cookie drew away to win by 1 ¼ lengths as Solitaire Game edged Ace of Aces for second over the sloppy going.
Snicker Cookie, a Rigney homebred, came on very strong last fall and ran his best race in his lone two-turn start, but while route racing might suit him best, Snicker Cookie still clocked 1:10.64 for the six furlongs, 1.23 seconds faster than the fillies a race before. Snicker Cookie, now a winner in two of four career starts, is by Noble’s Promise out of Cookie, by Quest.