Sprinters try to get a distance

Some fast 3-year-old sprinters are entered in the open division of the $100,000 Hoosier Breeders Sophomore Stakes at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Latigo, Mowins, Oro Azteca, Mr Chaos, and Pickle Feet all have earned a Beyer Speed Figure higher than 70, a pretty good number for an Indiana-bred June 3-year-old sprint.

But Wednesday’s race is not a sprint. This contest, race 7, and the $100,000 fillies division of the Hoosier Breeders Sophomore, race 6, will be run over 1 1/16 miles and around two turns, a new challenge for many of these horses.

Latigo, Mr Chaos, and Pickle Feet haven’t tried two turns. Oro Azteca was beaten a combined 33 lengths in his two route races. Mowins, though, had a positive experience in his lone route start. That came Oct. 6, when Mowins stalked a strong pace, made a sustained run, and beat 10 Indiana-bred 2-year-olds in the $100,000 Indiana Futurity, which he won by more than six lengths. Mowins made his 3-year-old debut April 30 at Oaklawn, chasing some serious open rivals in the Bachelor Stakes. His second start this season, against older Indiana-bred allowance horses, produced another solid run at another sprint trip. By Mohaymen and out of Prize Winner, a stakes winner around two turns, Mowins is trained by Mike Lauer, will be ridden by Jon Court, and looks ready for a Wednesday win.

None of the other 70-plus Beyer horses has a pedigree suggesting route racing as a strong option. Pickle Feet and, to a lesser extent, Mr Chaos are especially unappealing from a pedigree perspective, and both horses are drawn outside. Raildrawn Knight’s Move got only a 44 Beyer in his lone start, but he did win that sprint race and, unlike many of his foes, has solid bloodlines for the longer distance.

Stamina looms as a question for Speedy Delivery in race 6, the fillies division, but Speedy Delivery looks like the main speed of this 10-horse field with pace to make a clear lead into the first turn after breaking from post 1.

Trained by Michelle Elliott, Speedy Delivery began her career this spring at Horseshoe Indianapolis with a fivefurlong maiden win in April and a relatively easy first-level allowance win at 5 1/2 furlongs on May 19. She’s by Tale of Ekati, whose top three progeny earners – Girvin, Verve’s Tale, and Tale of Verve – all were dyed-in-the-wool route runners. Speedy Delivery’s dam, Fasig Girl, won route races in low claiming ranks and has produced two other foals to race, one of who couldn’t run much at all, and Express Lady, by Unbridled’s Express, who preferred sprints. Jockey Gage Holmes, aboard for the two wins, doesn’t get his sevenpound apprentice allowance in this stakes race.

Holy Justice and Louder Than Words have the best chance to run down the rail speed. Holy Justice won by a nose in a two-turn Indiana-bred stakes race last fall, and in her most recent route try finished fourth against open company at Oaklawn Park. Louder Than Words’s two-turn win May 22 in her only 2022 start came in an off-turf Indiana allowance race. Louder Than Words showed strong signs of having improved upon her 2-year-old performance level, though she might ultimately prove to be a turf horse.