Sky Writer, Obsolete score in Indiana-bred stakes

Sky Writer upset the $105,800 Snack Stakes one race after Obsolete was a less surprising winner of the $105,200 Ellen’s Lucky Star on Wednesday at Indiana Grand.

Its Just Fate was the 2-1 Snack favorite after a pair of dirt-stakes wins at Indiana Grand, but some combination of turf or two turns undid him Wednesday, when he set the pace and faded to fifth. The Snack winner, Sky Writer, also was a turf novice, but his backers got $27.80 betting that he’d be at least as good on turf as on dirt.

Sky Writer had been holding solid form in Indiana-bred dirt-sprint allowance races in which he raced on or near the lead, but in the Snack he was reined back to fifth by jockey Eddie Perez as Its Just Fate set solid splits of 23.23 and 47.12. Sky Writer made his move early, coming between horses at the three-furlong pole and drawing alongside Its Just Fate. Sky Writer took the measure of the pace-setting favorite, was confronted by In a Fog closing three wide, briefly lost the lead at the furlong grounds, but battled back to beat In a Fog by a head. It was more than two lengths farther back to Mike the Man in third as Sky Writer clocked 1:37.40 for one mile on firm turf.

Sky Writer, a gelding by Sky Mesa out of Double Harbor, by Rockport Harbor, is trained by Robert Gorham for Mast Thoroughbreds. Making just his second stakes start, he ran his career mark to 3-2-2 from nine races.

Bettors let the morning-line chalk and recent dirt-stakes winner Ever Wonder go as the 3-1 close second choice behind 3-1 favorite Miracles Take Time in the Ellen’s Lucky Star. Ever Wonder set the early pace but gave way without resistance when challenged early on the far turn, and as Miracles Take Time suffered through a dismal trip – eventually getting stopped cold while trying to rally up the rail in the homestretch – it was the Mike Lauer-trained pair of Obsolete ($11.60) and Triple A who emerged in midstretch. Obsolete, stalking the pace from post 10, got first run and had just enough to hold off Triple A, who was finishing fastest but ran out of ground. Blue Hen Hockey was another three-quarters of a length behind finishing third as the winner ran a mile on turf in 1:38.16.

Making her turf debut, Obsolete won for the third time in 14 starts while annexing her first stakes. Bred by Mike and Penny Lauer and owned by Penny Lauer, Obsolete is a daughter of Old Fashioned and Prize Winner, by Pure Prize.