Unbridled Class delivers as favorite on a night of stakes upsets

Unbridled Class rebounded from an odds-on defeat last month and captured the $103,400 Merrillville Stakes as the favorite on Wednesday at Indiana Grand, but three other six-figure Indiana-bred stakes on the program proved less predictable.

Two Last Words won the $104,400 Hillsdale as the 5-2 third choice but Shes the Cause scored a 15-1 upset in the $105,900 City of Anderson Stakes and Little Kansas lit up the toteboard at $68 in the $105,000 Brickyard Stakes.

One through-line on the day was trainer Tim Glyshaw, who saddled Two Last Words to victory in the Hillsdale and sent out second-place finishers Lady Ally in the City of Anderson and Mr Manning in the Brickyard. Both Glyshaw's runners-up very nearly won. Lady Ally had a half-length stretch call lead before Shes the Cause, who came into the race a maiden, rallied to nip her at the line, though the winner was better than her bare margin of victory, overcoming traffic around the half-mile pole that cause jockey Santo Sanjur to check the filly. Shes the Cause got up anyway, winning by a head at $31.60 while stopping the timer in a notably slow 1:14.10. Longshot Mintchocolatechip finished third as favored Nothingbutflowers checked in eighth after stumbling at the start and second choice Release the Heat was eased to the wire after pressing the pace. Shes the Cause, by Creative Cause out of Scarlet Bulletin, by Red Bullet, is trained by Antonio Duran for breeder Ronald Saunders.

Glyshaw got his stakes win when Two Last Words ($7.20) turned a fine pressing trip under Jose Riquelme into a 1 1/4-length victory over favored Mai Tai’s Gem. The Hillsdale, for 2-year-olds, came up markedly faster than the City of Anderson for 2-year-old fillies as the winner clocked 1:11.34. The top two were much the best, with third-place Wicked Slider more than 11 lengths back in third. Two Last Words, owned by Deann Baer, is by Commissioner out of My Peg, by Fusaichi Pegasus.

Mr Manning set the pace and fought to the wire in the Brickyard, for older Indiana-breds, but just failed to last over upstart Little Kansas, who closed from midpack while rallying wide under Jon Court over a racing surface that appeared to be kind to outside lanes. Little Kansas was stepping up in class from statebred-restricted allowance competition and was as difficult to find as his price suggests. The winner ran six furlongs in 1:10.95 as Operation Stevie finished third and odds-on favorite Double Tuff somewhat predictably regressed off two peak races and checked in sixth. Veteran Bobby Barnett trains Little Kansas, a son of El Kingdom and Green Eyed Cat, by Tale of the Cat, for Andrew Ritter and Debbie Barnett.

Unbridled Class, meanwhile, was defeated at odds on with no apparent excuse in a similar spot last month but in the Merrillville, for older Indiana-bred fillies and mares, came through despite stumbling at the start. Unbridled Class ($5.20) set the pace under Rodney Prescott and held clear the mare that beat her last time, Expect Indy, by three-quarters of a length. The winner ran six furlongs in 1:11.10 as Obsolete finished a distant third. Bernie Flint trains Unbridled Class, a 4-year-old daughter of Unbridled Express by Miss Carmelite, by Mutakddim, for L.T.B. Inc. and Hillerich Racing.