A late rider change paired Jesus Castanon with Lookin at Justice in the 21st running of the $75,000 Indiana Futurity Tuesday, Nov. 17 at Indiana Grand. The move proved to be a winning connection as the duo scored a six and one-quarter length win in a time of 1:44.19 in the one mile and 70-yard event.
Starting from post four in the 12-horse lineup, Castanon had Lookin at Justice ready to roll out of the gate, getting good early positioning behind early leader A Few Too Many and Tommy Pompell. Lookin at Justice followed along comfortably down the backstretch as horses vied for position on the outside. Heading into the final turn, Lookin at Justice moved up and moved on to lead the field into the final portions of the race.
In the stretch, Lookin at Justice hit another gear and rolled out to a dominant lead for an easy win. Sudden Shift and DeShawn Parker rallied up late to finish second over Rockin All Night and Rodney Prescott, who also closed well for third place.
“Anytime you get to ride for Mr. Genaro (Garcia), you go out with a lot of confidence,” said Castanon. “I've been on him (Lookin at Justice) in the mornings so I knew him a little. He got somewhat confused turning into the stretch because he looked over and saw the starting gate and he picked up his ears. But I smooched to him one time to pick it up and he took off.”
It was the second win in six starts for Lookin at Justice, who is owned by Steve Lewis of Chicago and Genaro Garcia's Southwest Racing Stable. The juvenile son of Atreides was a $15,000 purchase last year at Fasig Tipton's October Yearling Sale in Kentucky. The Justice Farm product now has in excess of $80,000 in career earnings.
“I always thought two turns would be better for this colt,” said Garcia, who handles the training duties. “He would be much better for a distance because when he was in a sprint, you had to push him the entire time. I feel like he will be a nice 3-year-old. He's one of the special ones in the barn.”
Lewis and Garcia's Southwest Racing Stable is currently leading the owner standings with 19 wins heading into the final two days of racing. Garcia is leading the trainer standings with 41 wins. A title in 2020 would be Garcia's fourth straight training title at Indiana Grand.
The final two days of racing in 2020 offers a lot of action. A $115,522.76 carryover will kick off the Straight Fire 6 Jackpot Pick 6 in the second race Wednesday, Nov. 18. The card also includes two stakes, the 23rd running of the $100,000 To Much Coffee Stakes and the 24th running of the $100,000 Frances Slocum Stakes for older Indiana breds.
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