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Fulsome Headlines Indiana Derby As O Besos Connections Skip Race

Indiana's richest horse race will headline a day with purses in excess of $1 million Wednesday, July 7. The featured 27th running of the Grade 3 $300,000 Indiana Derby will be the final event on the 12-race program that begins at 2:25 p.m.

Heading the list of seven entrants for the Indiana Derby is Fulsome from the Brad Cox Stable. The three-year-old Into Mischief colt owned and bred by Juddmonte Farms of Kentucky comes into Indiana on a three-race win streak. He scored an allowance win at Keeneland in early April followed by a win in Arkansas in the $300,000 Oaklawn Stakes. His latest trip to the winner's circle was in the Grade 3 $150,000 Matt Winn at Churchill Downs in late May. Fulsome has drawn post one and will be guided by Florent Geroux, who won the 2020 Indiana Derby aboard Shared Sense for Trainer Cox.

Joining Fulsome as a likely favorite is Mr. Wireless from the Bret Calhoun Stable. The Dialed In gelding finished second in his last start, the $300,000 Texas Derby at Lone Star and is two for four this season. Mr. Wireless has drawn post seven and will be ridden by Ramon Vazquez. Trainer Calhoun was the winner of the 2019 Indiana Derby with Mr Money.

Missing from the entries is O Besos from the Greg Foley barn. O Besos had been pointing to the Indiana Derby at Churchill Downs, but a last-minute decision was made to skip the race.

“We're just passing the race,” Foley said through correspondence with Jennie Rees, Eclipse Award winning turf writer. “We checked him out, didn't really find anything. (But) I wasn't going to run him if he wasn't 100 percent. No sense entering him when I'm not going to run him. I don't think it's anything bad. Maybe the work the other day jammed something up a little. He wasn't lame or off or anything. The exercise rider didn't like the way he went, and I didn't either. You don't want to put him in a race like that when I didn't like the way he went a few days before it.”

The entire field for the Indiana Derby, in post position order with jockey, includes Fulsome (Florent Geroux), WW Crazy (Victor Santiago); Starrininmydreams (Luis Saez); Convention (Francisco Arrieta); Sermononthemount (James Graham); Full Charge (Adam Beschizza); and Mr. Wireless (Ramon Vazquez). Estimated post time for the Indiana Derby is 8:25 p.m.

Also featured on the 12-race card is the 26th running of the Grade 3 $200,000 Indiana Oaks, slated as the 11th race on the card. A total of 11 sophomore fillies have been entered into the race with the early nod going to the inside filly Will's Secret. Ridden by Jon Court, the Will Take Charge three-year-old finished third in her last start in the Grade 1 $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. She is owned by breeder Willis Horton Racing and trained by Dallas Stewart and will start from post one.

Sitting directly to the right of her in the starting gate will be California invader Soothsay from the Richard Mandella barn. The Distorted Humor filly is two for three this year after going unraced at two. Her last start was a second-place finish in the Grade 2 $200,000 Sumer Oaks Stakes at Santa Anita. Flavien Prat guides Soothsay from post two.

The entire field for the Indiana Oaks, in post position order with jockey, includes Will's Secret (Jon Court); Soothsay (Flavien Pratt); Oliviaofthedesert (Brian Hernandez Jr.); Malloy (Adam Beschizza); Lovely Ride (Gabriel Saez); Sweet Pearl (Luis Saez); Li'l Tootsie (James Graham); Marion Francis (Florent Geroux); Lady Aces (Umberto Rispoli); Moon Swag (DeShawn Parker); and Forever Boss (Robby Albarado). Estimated post time for the Oaks is 7:43 p.m.

Indiana Derby Day will feature numerous activities to complement the racing program, including five $1,000 Megabet Win Wagers on the Indiana Derby, courtesy of the Indiana Thoroughbred Alliance. The twilight card will also feature a $500 Indiana Derby Hat Contest, Cigar Rolling Station, $1,000 Derby Warriors Handicapping Contest, Strolling Entertainment, and a community food booth featuring sno cones and cotton candy with all proceeds going to the Shelbyville High School Girls Basketball program. Free parking and free general admission will be offered for all racing fans with ample seating available on a first come, first serve basis.

The 19th season of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing is currently in progress through Monday, November 8. Racing is conducted Monday through Thursday with a first post of 2:25 p.m. Monday through Wednesday. Thursday racing begins at 3:25 p.m. Six select Saturdays are offered for all-Quarter Horse racing beginning at 10 a.m. Indiana Champions Day, featuring the top Thoroughbred and Quarter Horses in the state, is set for Saturday, Oct. 30 with a start time of 12 p.m. For more information on events and racing, go to www.indianagrand.com.

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‘Versatile’ Fulsome Records Final Workout Before Indiana Derby

Juddmonte Farms' Fulsome turned in his final workout for the $300,000, Grade 3 Indiana Derby on July 7, cruising five-eighths of a mile in 1:00.80 under jockey Florent Geroux shortly after the Churchill Downs track opened at 5:30 Wednesday morning.

“He did great. It was just maintenance,” Geroux said afterward. “He went 48 and 1:01, so he's doing good. We'll see how the race shapes up.”

The Brad Cox-trained Fulsome started his career with four turf races, winning a maiden race and finishing fourth in a stakes in New Orleans, before impressively capturing his dirt debut when a Keeneland allowance race came off the turf. He is now 3-for-3 on dirt, following up with Arkansas' $300,000 Oaklawn Stakes on Kentucky Derby Day and Churchill Downs' Grade 3 Matt Winn.

“He transferred over to the dirt well in April at Keeneland,” said Cox, perennially among Indiana Grand's leading trainers. “I'm glad it came off the turf; it was in the mud. He gave us the confidence to press forward on the dirt, so it's been very rewarding this spring.”

Cox said they were looking both at the grass and the two-turn mile distances available in turf maiden races when Fulsome began his career.

“A little bit of both. He just never shined a whole lot early on when he was chasing Mandaloun around there last fall,” he said with a laugh in reference to Juddmonte's Kentucky Derby runner-up. “It took him a little while to come to hand. He's not a real big horse, and I thought the grass might be a little kinder on him, that he could handle it a little better. He ran well on the grass, but he definitely has stepped up on the dirt.”

In the Matt Winn, Fulsome beat O Besos, one of his Indiana Derby rivals. O Besos, who finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby, is ridden by Indiana Grand's meet-leader Marcelino Pedroza.

“He ran a good race at Churchill,” Geroux said. “He was going to go by him (O Besos) pretty easily at the end. I was kind of tracking him all the way. He had a very nice turn of foot that day. Hopefully he can repeat and do the same thing at Indiana.”

Geroux rode Fulsome in his first three starts on grass.

“I think he's probably a touch better on the dirt,” he said. “He was not very quick. So Brad and Juddmonte didn't feel there was a great need to sprint him on the dirt, having him all the way back and eating dirt. So that's why he ran a few times on the turf, around two turns. And when he was ready to take on the dirt, they switched him over and he's been pretty good since then. His numbers show he's better on dirt, but I think he's very versatile. He can be close up to the pace and also be farther back — and he's good on both surfaces.”

Geroux and Cox, the 2020 Eclipse Award-winning trainer, teamed to sweep last year's Indiana Derby with Shared Sense and Indiana Oaks with Shedaresthedevil, who in her next start won the Kentucky Oaks. Now they'll try to repeat with Fulsome and Oaks contender Marion Francis, winner of a Churchill Downs allowance race in her last start.

“It was great last year,” Geroux said. “We brought some nice horses over there. It's easier when you're the favorite, or one of the favorites, to win these types of races. But it looks like he should be the favorite for the Indiana Derby. I don't know who's coming, but my guess is that he would be the favorite.”

The Grade 3 Indiana Derby will be joined by five other stakes on the card, bringing stakes purses for the day to $840,000. The Indiana Derby will be slated as the 12th race on the card with an estimated post time of 8:25 p.m. The Grade 3 Indiana Oaks will be carded as Race 11 with an estimated post time of 7:43 p.m.

The 19th season of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing is now in progress and continues through Monday, Nov. 8. Live racing is conducted at 2:25 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, with first post on Thursday set 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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O Besos Camp ‘Really Confident’ Heading Into Indiana Derby

Trainer Greg Foley has been on a roll, and he hopes that translates into O Besos rolling into the $300,000, Grade 3 Indiana Derby winner's circle at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino on July 7.

O Besos, who finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby and second in Churchill Downs' Matt Winn (G2), had his final serious training move Tuesday morning at the Louisville track. With Indiana Grand's meet-leader Marcelino Pedroza aboard, the chestnut colt powered five-eighths of a mile in 1:00.20 in company right after the track opened for training at 5:30. The work was designed to start at the half-mile pole and end at the seven-eighths pole past the wire.

“I put a horse with him just to get him to focus and have a good work,” Foley said. “I wanted a good, solid work this morning, a good gallop out. The other horse broke off probably two, three lengths in front — a little further than I intended to — but it went great. They didn't go real quick the first quarter. But the half went in 48 (seconds), the five-eighths in a minute-and-change and three-quarters in 1:12-and-two, I believe. The jock liked it a lot. He said, 'We're ready to go.'”

Pedroza confirmed that assessment.

“He galloped out just like he was before the Derby, galloped out really strong,” he said. “I'm really confident in him now, the way he worked today. I like him a lot.”

Foley's horses won four races in a two-day span during Churchill Downs' closing week, including 2020 Indiana Derby runner-up Major Fed in an allowance race and Bango in the $110,000 Kelly's Landing Stakes as part of a three-bagger on June 25. Two days later, Yes It's Ginger took the $75,000 Chicken Fried Stakes at Lone Star Park near Dallas. Overall, the stable won 10 races, with another 12 seconds, while earning more than $1 million in purses at the recently concluded Churchill meet.

Asked if he believes in mojo, Foley said, “I really do. When it's going good, it's just funny the way things go. It just seems like you can't do anything wrong. And when it goes the other way — I've been on the end of that, too — it just seems like you can't do anything right. But right now, we're rolling along. We've got some good horses, though, the best I've had in a long time. That helps more than anything.”

Foley is hoping that O Besos can top last year's second-place finish by Major Fed in the Indiana Derby won by Shared Sense. O Besos already has improved on Major Fed's 10th in the 2020 Kentucky Derby.

O Besos will again face Matt Winn victor Fulsome, trained by 2020 Indiana Derby winner Brad Cox.

“We're going over there to run good,” Foley said. “We're not just going over there to run. The horse that beat us in the Matt Winn is going to be over there, so we've got to turn the tables on him.

“I thought our horse was a little keen that day, a little wired up for some reason. We've been working on that, to get him to relax a little more. That's kind of why we wanted the company today. Marcelino said he did that really well, finished up the work good and galloped out really good.”

Trainer Bret Calhoun also worked his Indiana Derby horse (Mr Wireless) and Indiana Oaks filly (Lovely Ride) very early Tuesday at Churchill. Calhoun wasn't wanting either horse to do much, and he got his wish. Lovely Ride, going first, was clocked going an easy half-mile in 50.60 seconds. Mr. Wireless went more leisurely, to where the move was more of a “two-minute lick” than a workout, which Calhoun said was fine with him.

Gabriel Saez was aboard both horses. He rides Allied Racing's Lovely Ride in the Indiana Oaks, where she seeks her fourth straight victory while making her stakes debut. Mr. Wireless comes into the Indiana Derby off of a close second in the Texas Derby under Ramon Vazquez, who will ride him at Indiana Grand.

“We intended it to be pretty easy,” Calhoun, who won the 2019 Indiana Derby with Allied Racing's Mr. Money, said of the works. “It was a hot, humid morning. We didn't want much. I think they're both fit and ready.

“Lovely Ride obviously is a bit more aggressive, but a nice easy work. Nice gallop out. Just smooth and easy. Mr Wireless, a little bit of pilot error there. He gets pretty strong going to the pole. Gabe had a pretty good hold on him and he didn't let him do too much this morning, which was fine with me. That horse had some hard races and shipped. So I was happy with everything.”

Fulsome will have his final workout Wednesday morning.

“He's coming up to this race real well,” Cox said. “He's going to breeze (Wednesday) and will ship up probably Sunday evening. But we're very pleased with how he's training.”

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Fulsome Maintains ‘Winn’-ing Ways at Churchill

Four weeks after the commonly owned 'TDN Rising Star' and stablemate Mandaloun (Into Mischief) crossed the line second in the GI Kentucky Derby, Juddmonte's Fulsome (Into Mischief) was afforded his own chance to shine and made the most of the opportunity in Saturday's GIII Matt Winn S., overcoming a sluggish break to defeat Derby fifth O Besos (Orb) and that race's eighth-place finisher Helium (Ironicus) in convincing fashion.

Sent off the 17-10 chalk to remain perfect in three tries on the main track, the impeccably bred bay walked out of barrier five, but that caused jockey Florent Geroux little concern, as he settled Fulsome last of the septet as Helium poked through from between rivals to take up the running. Allowed to dictate reasonably soft fractions of :23.75 and :48.69, Helium galloped along comfortably enough as Fulsome continued to trail from within striking distance. O Besos was the first to come after the front-runner as the field neared the stretch, rolling up boldly three wide, but Fulsome had that move covered and was just finding his best stride four deep off the final corner. Fulsome claimed his two chief market rivals with relative ease outside of the eighth pole and strode home a good-looking winner.

“I was pretty confident he could take some dirt in his face and got him to relax early,” Geroux explained. “I was just hoping they were going fast up front after the slow break. He was able to go past those horses easily to win.”

Hailing from an extremely versatile female family, Fulsome began his career on the grass, besting three next-out winners when graduating by a neck at third asking at the Fair Grounds. Fourth in the Feb. 27 Black Gold S. in New Orleans, the bay romped in a rained-off Keeneland allowance in the slop Apr. 10 and was exiting a hard-fought, 1 1/4-length success in the May 1 Oaklawn S., getting the better of fellow Brad Cox trainee Warrant (Constitution).

Pedigree Notes:

Fulsome, the 43rd graded winner for his all-conquering sire, was produced by a winning daughter of French MSW & GSP Viviana, whose distinguished produce include Juddmonte's Sightseek (Distant View), a seven-time Grade I winner at distances from seven to nine furlongs on the dirt and dam of GSP Raison d'Etat (A.P. Indy); and Tates Creek (Rahy), a dual Grade I winner on the turf whose son Spirit Ridge (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) won his second race at group level in the G3 Premier's Cup Saturday at Eagle Farm in Brisbane, Australia.

Fulsome's third dam Nijinsky Star, a half-sister to champion Chief's Crown (Danzig)'s dam Six Crowns (Secretariat x Chris Evert), was responsible for GSW & GISP Revasser (Riverman) and SW & MGISP Hometown Queen (Pleasant Colony), the 1987 GI Kentucky Oaks runner-up who would go on to produce GSW & MGISP sire Bowman's Band (Dixieland Band), whose unraced full-sister Etats Unis was the dam of MGSW & MGISP sire Pollard's Vision (Carson City). Viviana's full-sister Willstar bred Etoile Montante (Miswaki), winner in France of the G1 Prix de la Foret and a MGSW/GISP runner in this country under the care of the late Bobby Frankel. The latter's grand-daughter Oyster Box (Tapit) was a good fourth in Saturday's GIII Regret S.

Fulsome, who is bred on the exact same cross as 'TDN Rising Star' Life Is Good and fellow GSW Naughty Joker, has a 2-year-old half-brother named Rimprotector (Point of Entry), a yearling half-sister by Frosted and a foal half-sister by Twirling Candy.

Saturday, Churchill Downs
MATT WINN S.-GIII, $150,000, Churchill Downs, 5-29, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:42.88, ft.
1–FULSOME, 120, c, 3, by Into Mischief
                1st Dam: Flourish, by Distorted Humor
                2nd Dam: Viviana, by Nureyev
                3rd Dam: Nijinsky Star, by Nijinsky II
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms
Inc (KY); T-Brad H Cox; J-Florent Geroux. $91,140. Lifetime
Record: 7-4-1-0, $373,854. *1/2 to Mr Darcy (Harlan's
Holiday), GSP, $263,876. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple
Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–O Besos, 118, c, 3, Orb–Snuggs and Kisses, by Soto.
O-Bernard Racing LLC, Tagg Team Racing, West Point
Thoroughbreds & Terry L Stephens; B-L Barrett Bernard (KY);
T-Gregory D. Foley. $29,400.
3–Helium, 123, c, 3, Ironicus–Thundering Emilia, by Thunder
Gulch. ($55,000 Ylg '19 FTKOCT). O-D J Stable LLC; B-Teneri
Farm Inc & Bernardo Alvarez Calderon (KY); T-Mark E Casse.
$14,700.
Margins: 3 3/4, 1 1/4, HF. Odds: 1.70, 1.90, 2.70.
Also Ran: Southern Passage, Ready to Pounce, Game Day Play, Sittin On Go. Scratched: Hello Hot Rod.
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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