“We just want to see everybody have a good Christmas,” said Tommy Pompell, who owns a home locally in Shelbyville, Ind. “It means a lot for us to all come together like this for these kids in our area.”

The jockeys came together after the third race Wednesday, Nov. 10 and surrounded the pile of donated items that will be distributed to local children in need. Twelve of the jockeys joined Rachel McLaughlin, on-air racing analyst, for the presentation in the paddock. Jockeys included in the presentation were Jose Riquelme, Santo Sanjur, Marcelino Pedroza Jr., Alex Achard, Andrea Rodriguez, Tommy Pompell, Perry Ouzts, Rodney Prescott, Joe Ramos, DeShawn Parker, Agustin Bracho and Joshua Morales. Many of the jockeys grew up in countries where presents were sometimes not available around the holidays. Being able to share happiness during the holidays has become very important to them.

Alex Achard, a native of France, may be a long way from home, but he still knows how important it is to give back to the community he calls home six months out of the year. Achard donated several toys to the drive with hopes it will put smiles on the faces of kids around Christmas.

“It is a pleasure to help kids who need a little help,” said Achard. “For us, it is not much to do, but we hope for them it will mean a lot. We hope to give brightness to their Christmas.”

The 20th season of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing is set to resume Tuesday, April 19 and run through Wednesday, Nov. 23. Racing will be held Monday through Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. with Thursday racing beginning at 3:30 p.m. A total of 12 Saturday racing programs will be held in 2022. For more information on events and racing, go to www.indianagrand.com.

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“We just want to see everybody have a good Christmas,” said Tommy Pompell, who owns a home locally in Shelbyville. “It means a lot for us to all come together like this for these kids in our area.”

For the presentation, on-air racing analyst Rachel McLaughlin was joined by 12 members of the local jockey colony, including Jose Riquelme, Santo Sanjur, Marcelino Pedroza Jr., Alex Achard, Andrea Rodriguez, Tommy Pompell, Perry Ouzts, Rodney Prescott, Joe Ramos, DeShawn Parker, Agustin Bracho and Joshua Morales.

“It is a pleasure to help kids who need a little help,” said Achard, who donated several toys to the drive. “For us, it is not much to do, but we hope for them it will mean a lot. We hope to give brightness to their Christmas.”

The 20th season of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing is set to resume Tuesday, Apr. 19 and run through Wednesday, Nov. 23.

For more information on events and racing, go to www.indianagrand.com.

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Unbridled Victory and Marcelino Pedroza Jr. made their presence known early and went straight to the lead in the six-furlong sprint over a very muddy track. The duo held tough throughout to win by one length at the wire over Everything's Rosy and Eddie Perez. No Trust and Sammy Bermudez closed late for third.

Unbridled Victory is trained by Bernie Flint and owned by Miles Childers, Ed Wright Cattle Company, and L.T.B. Inc. It was the second career win in the third start for the Unbridled Express freshman filly, who just broke her maiden in the start before in early October.

Joining Unbridled Victory as a two-year-old winner on the card was Mr Chaos in the 23rd running of the Crown Ambassador Stakes. Ridden by Rodney Prescott, the Turbo Compressor gelding was making only his second career start in the event, but was an impressive winner in his racing debut to be tagged as the favorite. Prescott got away in mid-pack before moving up into third to track the leaders a little closer as the field turned for home.

In the stretch, Mr Chaos got the lead and was a comfortable winner by one and three-quarter lengths, giving Prescott his 3,997th career win. Too Bad Justice and Joe Ramos held gamely for second while Me and Chili and Marcelino Pedroza Jr. finished third.

“He stepped back a little at the break, but he finished strong and ran a real nice race,” said Prescott. “Rob (Dobbs) has done a really nice job with this horse.”

Mr Chaos is trained by Robert Dobbs Jr. and is owned by Judy Dorris and Ken Sentel. The freshman is now two for two in his brief career with earnings in excess of $80,000.

Older horses were featured in the second running of the $150,000 Unreachable Star Stakes. Cash Logistics and Alex Achard got away near the lead and sat along the outside of Barefootbootlegger and Eddie Perez early before moving on and opening up on the field in the stretch. The four-year-old son of Unbridled Express was a winner by five and three-quarter lengths at the wire over Uphold and Tommy Pompell. Max Express and Sammy Bermudez finished third.

Cash Logistics is trained by Genevieve Londono for owners James and Charlie Hancock. It was his fourth win of the year in eight starts with seven career wins now tallied. He moved his career earnings over $358,000.

The connections of Unreachable Star were trackside to provide a $500 donation to Friends of Ferdinand in honor of the former Indiana champion who was the 2009 Horse of the Year and earned more than $775,000 during his career. David and Loren Osborne have been big supporters of racehorse aftercare programs and wanted to do something to give back to Indiana racing during Indiana Champions Day. Friends of Ferdinand is the only accredited Thoroughbred aftercare program and works directly with many trainers at Indiana Grand to retrain and rehome Thoroughbreds once their racing days have been completed.

The final Thoroughbred stakes race of the day also honored a former champion with the $150,000 Lady Fog Horn Stakes. The race, named in honor of Indiana's all-time leading mare, Lady Fog Horn, who has in excess of $824,000 in earnings, brought out the state's best older females. Fireball Baby was the race favorite and she proved why she deserved so much support with an impressive win by four lengths, well under wraps by Marcelino Pedroza Jr. The Noble's Promise was behind horses for most of the one and one-sixteenth mile event, but found the room she needed along the inside, scooting through and exploding to the lead. Diamond Solitaire and John McKee were widest in the stretch to close for second over Expect Indy and Emmanuel Esquivel for third.

Fireball Baby is a homebred by Richard and Tammy Rigney's Rigney Racing. It was her seventh career win and a repeat in the Lady Fog Horn. The win also catapulted her into the state's top five all-time earners with a tally of nearly $550,000 in career earnings. Philip Bauer has handled the training duties for the flashy chestnut mare, who is now five.

“I had a lot of confidence in this mare today,” said Pedroza Jr., who scored three wins on the card. “I worked her earlier in the week and she worked amazing, so that gave me a lot of confidence coming into today. I told Philip (Bauer) she has a lot of heart, and she showed it today.”

The Thoroughbred portion of the afternoon was presented by the Indiana Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association with numerous giveaways and a reception in the first floor Derby Suite. The day brought a successful Indiana stakes season to a close, which offered more than $4 million in purses on the year throughout the 123-day racing season.

The 19th season of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing is now in progress and continues through Thursday, Nov. 11. Live racing is conducted at 2:25 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 11. First post all other Thursdays leading up to the end of the meet begin at 3:25 p.m. A special Indiana Champions Day highlighting the state's top Thoroughbred and Quarter Horses will be held Saturday, Oct. 30, beginning at noon. More information about the 2021 racing season is available at www.caesars.com/indiana-grand.

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The Breeders' Cup will be something of a homecoming for Achard, who spent a winter in California as an exercise rider about 10 years ago before continuing his race riding career in his native France with side trips around Europe and to China.

With limited opportunities overseas, Achard opted to reboot his career in the U.S. in 2018. He chose Indiana Grand for its proximity to tracks in Kentucky and Ohio with chances to find mounts nearly every day. He rode 32 races without winning in his first season, but his work ethic began paying off the following year. Always willing to introduce himself to trainers and ride their horses wherever they are, Achard came upon In Love's trainer, Paulo Lobo, at The Thoroughbred Center in north Lexington.

“When I moved here, I didn't really know many people,” Achard said. “One day I was walking to the barns like I do pretty much every day. I guess a rider didn't show up, and Paulo asked if I could breeze a horse and I said, 'Sure.' That's how it (riding for Lobo) started.”

Lobo recognized Achard's talent and willingness to travel and began hiring him for races. In his first try aboard In Love, Achard guided him to an allowance victory at Arlington Park. Next out, the team captured the listed TVG Stakes at Kentucky Downs in September in a prep for the Keeneland Turf Mile.

Achard relished the energy of Keeneland's opening weekend, and said he wasn't nervous before the Keeneland Turf Mile.

“I was actually very confident before the race, but I didn't tell anybody,” Achard said. “For some riders it can be a bit of pressure, but I don't take it that way. I really enjoy it because it is really fun to see people. I just love it.”

Two days after the biggest win of his career, Achard was back at Indiana Grand, where he rode one winner from five mounts. He continues to receive the attention that began pouring in as soon as In Love crossed the finish line 1½ lengths in front.

“It was amazing because when the horse won at Kentucky Downs, that was huge,” he said. “We knew that was a big step to run against Grade 1 horses at Keeneland. I got a lot of calls from France and the United States to congratulate me, so that was cool.”

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Lobo said that In Love as well as stablemate Ivar (BRZ) both returned to The Thoroughbred Center on the other side of Lexington last night and were doing fine Sunday morning. Ivar, in his first start in more than five months, finished fourth after a troubled trip in his bid to repeat in the Turf Mile.

In Love, who provided jockey Alex Achard with his first Grade 1 victory, earned a berth in the Grade 1 FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF, a race in which Ivar was fourth last year here at Keeneland and remains under consideration for this year.

Imperador earned his spot in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf with a victory in course-record time in the Grade 2 Calumet Turf Cup at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky., last month.

All three horses are owned by Bonne Chance Farm and Stud R D I. Lobo said he would ship his Breeders' Cup runners to Del Mar on Nov. 1.

The defending champion in the Breeders' Cup Mile, Order of Australia (IRE), finished last in the field of 12 in the Keeneland Turf Mile.

“He was a disappointment,” said Kieran Murphy, who is overseeing trainer Aidan O'Brien's horses at Keeneland. “He had a tough draw, 10 of 13, and he doesn't like to be in around other horses. He will leave tonight for Chicago and then fly home tomorrow.”

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Over a good Keeneland turf course, the 5-year-old gelded son of Agnes Gold with jockey Alex Achard broke cleanly, settling into seventh early in the one-mile stakes. As Brown Storm led the field around the first turn and into the backstretch, Achard and In Love bided their time in the middle of the field of 12, waiting until the far turn to move for a more advantageous position. On the rail, though, In Love was stymied by a wall of horses, Achard going wide in the stretch to find running room. That move was the winning one.

Clear of horses, In Love dug in late, passing Somelikeithotbrown and Tell Your Daddy to take the lead and drawing away to win by three lengths. The final time for the one-mile G1 stakes was 1:34.84.

In Love paid $26.40, $15.40, and $9.60. Tell Your Daddy paid $24.60 and $13.20. Somelikeithotbrown paid $8.20. Find this race's chart here.

The G1 Keeneland Turf Mile is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. Winners of Challenges Series races receive a fees-paid, guaranteed spot for the corresponding event at the Breeders' Cup World Championships Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

“I think the big key was we went to Arlington and tried an easier spot, and he won the race, and then we put blinkers on him and he improved a lot, and running the one-turn mile – they are very unfamiliar in South America with that – and I think the horse is improving. You know, Kentucky Downs horses get very fit. And also he loves it here (at Keeneland). Last year he won an allowance very easy here, and I think the giving ground helped him,” trainer Paulo Lobo said after the race.

“(Recording my first Grade 1 win) feels great. Especially at Keeneland—I love Keeneland—and it couldn't be any better,” jockey Alex Achard told the Keeneland Communications Office after the Turf Mile. “He's getting older but he's getting better. He's like a good wine. Every race he shows up and he's even better every time.”

Bred by Fazenda Mondesir and Stud Rio Dois Irmaos, In Love is out of the Know Heights mare Last Bet. With his win in the G1 Keeneland Turf Mile, the 5-year-old gelding has three wins in six starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of five wins in 13 starts and career earnings of $729,700.

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The lesser-preferred half of the uncoupled entry with 4-1 Ivar, In Love was settled in a midfield seventh, a spot or two behind a tugging Ivar, as longshot Brown Storm (Chi) (Scat Daddy) cut out the running from Diamond Oops (Lookin At Lucky) and a three-wide Somelikeithotbrown (Big Brown). Nicely settled along the fence and traveling underneath reigning Breeders' Cup Mile hero Order of Australia (GB) (Australia {GB}) down the backstretch, In Love raced more or less on the back of Ivar and improved by a spot as Order of Australia called it a day three furlongs down. Traveling extremely kindly nearing the stretch, he was eased off the heels of Ivar and into the the three or four path in upper stretch and sprinted his final quarter mile in :22.91 (according to Trakus) to cause the upset. One-time claimer Tell Your Daddy (Scat Daddy), exiting a front-running victory in the GII Bernard Baruch H. Sept. 6 at Saratoga, ran on gamely for second just ahead of Somelikeithotbrown.

In Love is nominated to the Breeders' Cup and trainer Paolo Lobo seemed to indicate Ivar would benefit from the return effort and would alsp proceed to Del Mar. Bonne Chance and Stud RDI are also set to be represented in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf by Imperador (Arg) (Treasure Beach {GB}), winner of the GII Calumet Turf Cup at Kentucky Downs.

A maiden scorer and Group 2-placed in Argentina, In Love was an allowance winner at last year's Keeneland fall eetingand snapped a three-race losing streak with in a second-level allowance at Arlington July 25. He was exiting a 2 1/4-length success with blinkers added in the TVG2 S. at Kentucky Downs Sept. 8.

“I think the big key was we went to Arlington and tried an easier spot, and he won the race, and then we put blinkers on him and he improved a lot,” said Lobo who saddled Farda Amiga (Broad Brush) to win the 2002 GI Kentucky Oaks before closing her career with a runner-up effort to Azeri (Jade Hunter) in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Arlington. “I think the horse is improving. You know, Kentucky Downs horses get very fit. And also he loves it here [at Keeneland]. Last year he won an allowance very easy here, and I think the give in the ground helped him.”

Pedigree Notes:

In Love is the 16th G1SW/GISW for Agnes Gold (Jpn), a son of Sunday Silence who passed away in late September in Brazil at the age of 23. Last Bet is the dam of In Love's 2-year-old full-sister Miss Sarajevo (Brz) and a yearling full-brother to In Love.

Saturday, Keeneland
KEENELAND TURF MILE S.-GI, $750,000, Keeneland, 10-9, 3yo/up, 1mT, 1:34.84, gd.
1–IN LOVE (BRZ), 126, g, 5, by Agnes Gold (Jpn)
                1st Dam: Last Bet (Brz) (GSW & G1SP-Brz),
                                by Know Heights (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Barefoot Contessa (Brz), by Ghadeer (Fr)
                3rd Dam: Feminite, by Duke of Marmalade
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. O-Bonne Chance
Farm, LLC & Stud R D I, LLC.; B-Fazenda Mondesir / Stud Rio
Dois Irmaos (BRZ); T-Paulo H. Lobo; J-Alex Achard. $450,000.
Lifetime Record: GSP-Arg, 13-5-2-2, $729,700. *1/2 to Last Kiss
(Brz) (Elusive Quality), G1SW-Brz, G1SP-Arg. Werk Nick
Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Tell Your Daddy, 126, g, 5, Scat Daddy–Harbingerofthings, by
Rockport Harbor. ($250,000 Ylg '17 FTKTUR). O-Flying P Stable;
B-Spendthrift Farm LLC (KY); T-Thomas Morley. $150,000.
3–Somelikeithotbrown, 126, h, 5, Big Brown–Marilyn Monroan,
by Tapit. O-Skychai Racing LLC & Sand Dollar Stable LLC; B-Hot
Pink Stables & Sand Dollar Stables (NY); T-Michael J. Maker.
$75,000.
Margins: 1HF, HF, HD. Odds: 12.30, 29.10, 6.80.
Also Ran: Ivar (Brz), Space Traveller (GB), Front Run the Fed, Pixelate, Diamond Oops, Argentello (Ire), Monarchs Glen (GB), Brown Storm (Chi), Order of Australia (Ire). Scratched: Field Pass. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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With Brown Storm and Tut's Revenge setting a resolute pace, Achard settled In Love into fourth in the field of nine older horses, gradually picking up steam before getting through on the inside at the top of the stretch and taking command. Kentucky Ghost ate at his deficit in the final eighth-mile but didn't threaten the winner. He did, however, nail Brown Storm to take second by a head. In Love covered the mile and 70 yards in 1:38.55.

Those who bet the winner certainly were in love, as the 5-year-old trained by Paulo Lobo paid $19.40 while racing in blinkers for the first time.

“I won the last time at Arlington,” Achard said, referencing a neck allowance victory over yielding turf. “That was pretty good. We thought that would be an easier swing, but we had to fight. Today was even better.

“I knew that there was enough speed in the race, which is good for us because he can be a little bit tough sometimes. We got the pace and were just behind chilling. When I asked him to go, he just went.”

Trainer Vicki Oliver said the distance was too short for Kentucky Ghost to be most effective. “He ran really well,” she said. “That was our biggest concern, that it would be too short for him. He's always been a mile and an eighth-type of horse. His mom was a mile-and-a-half type of horse. We were hoping to get the pace that we got. We just couldn't close into it at a mile and 70 yards.”

Kentucky Ghost's jockey Rafael Bejarano thought he was in a winning position until Achard made his decisive, clever move.

“I had a good trip. I saved ground and had a beautiful position coming down the lane,” Bejarano said. “I let him out in the stretch and my horse gave me a good run, a good finish, but the winner today he stole the race. He had a good trip inside and he kept going.”

Though born in Brazil, In Love raced in Argentina in 2019 before Bonne Chance farm owner Alberto Figueiredo sent him to Lobo in the United States, where he's now won three of seven starts. The only times he wasn't competitive was in the slop in a Keeneland allowance. He also finished eighth, beaten 6 1/2 lengths, in his only previous U.S. stakes, Churchill Downs' Grade 2 Wise Dan.

“Since he came here, he's run very well,” the Lexington-based Lobo said. “The day of the Wise Dan, after the race he came back a little sick with a virus. I think that's why he didn't perform well that day.”

Since he wasn't born in Kentucky, In Love wasn't eligible for the $100,000 in Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund purses that help fatten the pot for each $400,000 division of the TVG. But he still earned a healthy $178,560 to more than double his earnings to $279,700 off a 4-2-2 record in 12 starts.

Even without racing for the maximum purse, In Love still provided the 30-year-old Achard his biggest victory since coming to America three years ago. Earlier this year the Indiana Grand-based jockey won Arlington Park's Grade 3 Chicago Stakes, but that race was worth $100,000, with Abby Hatcher earning $57,600.

“Now it's even better,” Achard said of this victory.

In Love is a son of the Japanese Sunday Silence stallion Agnes Gold and out of the Brazilian mare Last Bet, who is by the Irish-bred Know Heights.

“We bred him in Brazil, and we send our best stock to race in Argentina,” said Figueiredo. “This horse is no exception. When all the COVID started to stop all the races over there, we put him on a plane with two others. It was well worth the bet we made on him.

“This horse never disappoints us. And to be frankly honest, I always expected a little bit more from him. Even in his time in Argentina. He was always a horse that worked so well. Sometimes he did not do the same in the afternoon. But with time and more experience, and now maybe with the blinkers, I think we'll figure out more of him.”

A year ago, Figueiredo and Lobo brought the Brazilian-bred Ivar to Kentucky Downs, finishing third in the race now known as the WinStar Mint Million but in his next start won Keeneland's Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile. Ivar subsequently finished fourth in the Breeders' Cup Mile.

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“A lot of people made fun of that, but I don't really mind,” the 30-year-old Achard said. “I was so happy. I was confident before the race, but obviously it wasn't easy. 

“When I handicapped the race, Brad Cox's horse was really the horse to beat and after that the race was quite open; I guess I got such a good trip so that's probably where I won the race.

“At that moment (at the finish line) I wasn't really thinking about anything, I was just happy.”

Achard began his riding career in his native France, but made the decision to move to the United States in 2018. He knew the opportunities were more plentiful, but he didn't know which part of the country to try first. 

“I had no clue where to go, absolutely no clue,” Achard said, laughing. “I'd been to the U.S. once before, galloping in California one winter, and when things weren't working out in France after I lost the claim, I knew I wanted to come back to the U.S.

“I called Flo[rent Geroux], even though I didn't know him very well, because when he left there was when I was starting to ride, so we kind of crossed paths with each other. I just knew who he was, and that he was successful.”

Geroux suggested Indiana because the grouping of racetracks in the region are all within driving or short flight distance, Achard said.

It's taken several years to build up his business. When he first arrived, the jockey couldn't find an agent and wound up making his living as an exercise rider.

“Obviously in France I did well years ago, but you restart from the bottom here,” Achard said. “Nobody knows you or what you've done in your own country. It was harder than I thought, I just thought I'd find an agent and it would be all right. When I couldn't find anyone, I just started galloping for Tom Amoss in Indiana, breezing most of his workers. He sent me to Saratoga for the summer with a string of 10 to 12 horses. Obviously I didn't race, but it was a great experience.”

After Achard returned to Indiana, he found an agent and picked up a few mounts at the end of the 2018 meet. He followed the local circuit to Turfway Park in Florence, Ky. for the winter, and earned a pair of seconds that December, but it wasn't until March of 2019 that Achard finally got his first win in the U.S.

He wound up winning 17 races in 2019, and last year, despite the struggles and restrictions implemented by the pandemic, Achard improved his statistics to win 33 races and top $1 million in earnings. 

Achard's first stakes win came in late summer of 2020 at Indiana Grand, winning the $100,000 Indiana First Lady Stakes on Aug. 26 aboard Wellington Wonder for trainer Michelle Lovell.

“I'm so happy for Alex,” Lovell told Indiana Grand's publicity department after that win. “When he first got here, I saw him win for someone else and thought he could really ride. He has always liked this filly and he knows her really well. She only has one big stride and he knows how to time his move. He works so hard, so I'm glad to see him get his first stakes win.”

In 2021, Achard has already racked up 23 wins. He has able to travel around the Midwest much more due to the relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions, and made a specific request to his agent to try to find mounts at Arlington Park.

“I just told my agent at the beginning of the year, this is the last year of Arlington, and I've never been and I want to see it,” Achard said. “I told her, 'I want to ride there before it's gone, even if the horse has three legs!' I had just heard so many good things about it, and it's really beautiful. It's so sad to think that this might be the last year.”

The possibility of shutting down Arlington reminded Achard of a similar situation in France.

“They just did that to a big track in Paris last year, a beautiful racetrack where you could run 1 ¼ miles straight,” he explained. “There were only two racetracks in Europe where you can do that, Newmarket being the other, but they just shut down the track last year. That was pretty sad.”

Still, it was that drive to see Arlington Park, plus his willingness and desire to ride races at every available opportunity, that earned him the mount aboard the Anna Meah-trained Abby Hatcher in the Chicago Stakes.

The G3 was Meah's first graded stakes win as well, and she credited a clever ride from Achard in her celebratory social media post.

WOW! First graded stakes win for my stable, The Chicago G3 @Arlington_Park under a perfect ride by Alex Achard. I'm at a loss for words and extremely grateful to have so much support by so many people. It's truly unbelievable and I'm so proud of my team. Thank you ABBY HATCHER! pic.twitter.com/V2lytf0bE9

— Anna Meah Racing (@AnnaMeahRacing) June 27, 2021

Though he wasn't raised in the sport of horse racing, Achard comes by his love of horses and competition naturally. Both his parents are involved in show jumping in France, and for a time during his youth they also exercised racehorses in the mornings.

“Actually, I grew up with horses, but I never wanted to learn how to ride because I was around horses every day and I wasn't interested in riding,” Achard revealed. “It came up way later, when I started riding at 13 or 14, but I could have been on the horses at probably three years old.

“I just fell in love with the horses, and that's the main thing you need. I also love racing, the competition of it, so it's a good match for me.”

Looking forward, Achard says he can't compare himself to the success of his fellow countrymen Julien Leparoux, Geroux, or even Flavien Prat, with whom he did ride a bit in France. 

“What I want is to ride the most winners I can, obviously if they are good races it's even better,” Achard said. “I still have some work to do, but I don't put a lot of pressure on myself, I just try to do my thing. I don't compare myself to them, but if I can do some of what they've accomplished, that would be amazing.”

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Trained by Anna Meah and owned by her husband David Meah, Abby Hatcher covered seven furlongs on a wet synthetic surface rated fast in 1:22.27. The 4-year-old Irish-bred filly by Acclamation finished  a half-length clear of Club Car, the 5-2 second choice, with 11-10 favorite Dreamalildreamofu another half-length back in third in the field of nine fillies and mares.

Abby Hatcher paid $40 to win. The Chicago Stakes was her first added-money victory and third over from nine starts in a career that began in Ireland in 2019. This was her second win from six starts in the U.S.

She Can't Sing set the early fractions, going the opening quarter mile in :23.39 and the half in :45.93. Club Car took over at the furlong grounds, the six furlongs clocked in 1:09.66, with Dreamalildreamofu applying pressure. But Achard had all the momentum aboard Abby Hatcher and moved to the lead in the final yards.

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