Rigney homebreds should enjoy distance in Indiana-bred juvenile stakes

Kentucky-based owner and breeder Richard Rigney and his private trainer, Phil Bauer, jumped into the Indiana-bred program this year. And it’s working.

Rigney and Bauer have campaigned homebred filly Fireball Baby and homebred gelding Snicker Cookie during the 2018 Indiana Grand meet, and both could win $100,000 Indiana-bred stakes races Wednesday.

Fireball Baby is a 6-1 chance on the morning line (she’ll probably be a shorter price than that) in the $100,000 Miss Indiana Stakes, while Snicker Cookie is listed as a 7-2 chance in the Indiana Futurity. Both races are contested at a mile and 70 yards, a distance that will tax many of these 2-year-olds. The Miss Indiana is restricted to females.

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Fireball Baby already is a stakes winner at the meet; she captured the filly division of the $106,000 Indiana Stallion Futurity by a neck last month. That race was restricted to horses by Indiana sires and Wednesday’s lacks the sire restriction, but even facing stronger rivals while stretching out from a sprint to a route, Fireball Baby stands a good chance.

In the Indiana Stallion, she broke from the rail, forcing jockey Fernando De La Cruz to ask the filly for speed out of the gate. Fireball Baby gave it to him and led all the way, but probably will be more comfortable racing with a couple targets in front of her. She’s by Noble’s Promise and out of a mare by A.P. Indy, a stamina influence that could help her see out Wednesday’s two-turn trip.

Beentheredonethat is the only two-turn winner in the field, but her route success came on turf. One to consider should she draw in from the also-eligibles is Ijustwantahavefun.

Snicker Cookie enters the $100,000 Indiana Futurity a two-race maiden but was made the tepid morning-line favorite for good reason. He was just sixth in an Indiana-bred maiden race making his career debut but finished that start with aplomb and returned to run second, beaten just a half-length while racing for the first time on Lasix, in the $103,000 Crown Ambassador on Oct. 6. Also by Noble’s Promise, Snicker Cookie is out of a mare by Quest and like his filly stablemate in the race before looks like a young horse who might stay two turns – at least better than the others in this race.