ITOBA HONORS 2023 Champions

The Indiana Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association honored the leading horses and connections in the state during the 2023 racing season at its annual awards banquet Saturday at the Indianapolis Marriott North.

Horse of the Year honors were posthumously awarded to Nobody Listens (Conveyance), whose five wins from eight 2023 starts included the GIII Turf Monster S. at Parx. The Indiana-bred gelding, who tragically died in a trailer accident the day after his Turf Monster win, was also named the state's champion older bred horse.

Other champions honored Saturday include: 2-Year-Old Sired Filly: The Kid Pataky (Pataky Kid); Champion 2-Year-Old Bred Filly: Ice Cold (Mitole); Champion 2-Year-Old Sired Colt: Cringe (Taprize); Champion 2-Year-Old Bred Colt: Molly's Town (Mo Town); Champion 3-Year-Old Sired Filly: Itzforever (Forever d'Oro); Champion 3-Year-Old Bred Filly: Corningstone (Kantharos); Champion 3-Year-Old Sired Colt: Doubledogjustice (Lantana Mob); Champion 3-Year-Old Bred Colt: King Ice (Keen Ice); Champion Older Sired Mare: Quick And Easy (What Now); Champion Older Bred Mare: Louder Than Words (Mr Speaker); Champion Older Sired Horse: Mr. Chaos (Turbo Compressor).

Honored with Indiana Breed Development Awards were: Broodmare of the Year: Express Run; Stallion of the Year: Forever d'Oro; and Stallion Owner of the Year: Justice Farms.

Kim Hammond was honored with the Hall of Distinction Award and Representative Bob Cherry was presented with the President's Award.

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O’Connell Moves Ahead as Winningest Female Trainer

With her victory in the fifth race at Tampa Bay Downs Sunday, Kathleen O'Connell surpassed Kim Hammond to become the winningest female trainer in North America. My Eagle Soars (Khozan) became O'Connell's 2,386th winner when he crossed the line first in the six-furlong maiden claimer.

“It's just been a wonderful ride,” O'Connell said of her training career. “It's not only about the destination, it's the journey getting there.”

O'Connell, who began training on her own in 1981, has twice been the leading trainer at Tampa Bay Downs. She also won a title at Calder. She currently trains about 60 horses between Tampa Bay Downs and Gulfstream Park.

She has won nine graded stakes, three from 1997-2000 by Blazing Sword, as well as the 2011 GII Tampa Bay Derby with Watch Me Go; the 2003 GII Bonnie Miss S. with Ivanavinalot; the 2019 GIII Sam F. Davis S. with Well Defined; and back-to-back runnings of the GII Princess Rooney in 2018 and 2019 with Stormy Embrace.

Hammond, who has yet to win a race in 2023 from 16 starts, will have a chance to go back into a tie with O'Connell when she saddles a runner in the fifth race at Turfway Park Friday.

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Indiana Sired Stakes: Sky Judge Makes Up For Lost Time, Hungarian Princess Still On Top

After getting a late start to his racing career, Sky Judge is definitely making up for lost time. Making his first career stakes start, Sky Judge ruled over his opponents for the win in the eighth running of the $75,000 Sagamore Sired Stakes Wednesday, May 19. The event was one of two on the card, marking the first stakes races of the 2021 season at Indiana Grand.

Starting from post seven, Sky Judge and jockey Orlando Mojica left out of the gate with authority, grabbing the top spot on the inside before Binge and Joe Ramos joined them on the outside heading to the quarter. From that point on, the three-year-old Sahara Sky gelding took over, increasing his lead around the only turn of the five and one-half furlong race, the first time it has been conducted at this distance, moving from six furlongs.

In the stretch, Sky Judge was in front by more than four lengths, increasing to an even larger margin as the finish line neared, winning the race by seven and one-half lengths in 1:04.83. Manuelito and Tommy Pompell moved up quickly from the back to score the second-place finish by a neck over Royal Icing and Edgar Morales for third.

Because it was his first time in stakes company, Sky Judge was a bit of a surprise, paying $11.20 for the win. Bred by Samuel and William Martin Trust and Edmund Martin Trustee, Sky Judge is now two for three this year at Indiana Grand and is two for seven in his career.

“This colt (Sky Judge) was at my farm and nobody wanted to train him, so I took him,” said Roberts, who has a training center on the west side of Indianapolis. “The first of the year, he really woke up and started training better. I can't do all of this by myself and I have really good help that pays attention and helped me with this horse.”

Roberts, who runs his horses under his training center name of Indy Dancer's Training Center, has had horses in the past that have competed in the bigger stakes in the state of Indiana, including the Indiana Derby. Early indications are pointing Sky Judge to the same path.

“That's the plan, to point him toward the Indiana Derby,” added Roberts. “I have horses both on the track and at the farm, but he stays here. We'll see how he comes out of the race. We may take him home and let him eat some grass and relax.”

For Mojica, he fits Sky Judge like a glove. He is now two for two aboard the gelding and detected his talent early on.

“I've worked him two times in the morning,” said Mojica. “He worked great. He can be a little hyper at times, but he does everything right. We thought today we would just try to get to the lead because no one else seemed to want it. He was in front at the break and when I asked him to go, he took off. I looked up and saw on the tv (jumbotron) how far ahead we were, and I thought I'd better take hold and slow him down some near the finish. He just keeps getting better and better with every start.”

It's already been a big year for Mojica, who is a three-time leading jockey at Indiana Grand. Mojica scored his 2,500th career win to kick off the season in Indiana in mid-April. The Puerto-Rican born jockey is among the top 10 this season and his win aboard Sky Judge was his 31st stakes victory in Indiana Thoroughbred history.

Hungarian Princess, last year's 2-year-old filly champion of Indiana, is back. The heavily favored filly did not disappoint in her second start of the season, strolling to victory in the eighth running of the $75,000 Swifty Sired Fillies Stakes Wednesday, May 19 at Indiana Grand.

Starting from post nine in the nine-horse lineup, Hungarian Princess was one of the first ones out of the gate but backed off as Starlet Express and Marcelino Pedroza set the tempo on the inside. It only took a couple of taps of the whip from jockey Sammy Bermudez to signal Hungarian Princess to go and she was on a mission, moving up three wide around the turn.

At the top of the stretch, Hungarian Princess took over the lead and was seamless to the wire in the five and one-half furlong event, winning by one and three-quarter lengths in a time of 1:04.56. Pearl Tiara and Fernando De La Cruz made a surprise late bid to move into second as a longshot along with Miss Deputy Star and Alex Achard, also a longshot who held on gamely on the inside for third.

Hungarian Princess is trained by Kim Hammond for her owner-breeder Swifty Farms Inc. just off Interstate 65 in Seymour, Ind. She is now four for seven in her career and has been ridden in all of her starts by Bermudez.

“I think she's gotten better this year,” said Bermudez. “I've been on her a few times in the morning and worked her for Kim (Hammond). She just told me today to win. She was sharp and when you ask, she goes. She knows when it's time to go and she knows where the wire is. She's a fun horse to ride.”

Hungarian Princess increased her career bankroll to more than $180,000 with the win. It was her third stakes win in her career so far, which has all taken place at Indiana Grand.

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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Floroplus DQ’d From Turfway Win For Lidocaine

Floroplus (City Zip), a Turfway Park-based gelding who won three straight races in March, has been disqualified for the second of those victories after post-race testing revealed a 3-hydroxylidocaine (lidocaine) positive.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has voided the win and redistributed purse money for the Mar. 18 victory by Floroplus in an $18,000 claiming sprint. Trainer Kim Hammond has been penalized with a $500 fine and a 30-day suspension, 15 days of which will be stayed because of “mitigating circumstances (number of violations in relation to overall record).”

The stay is also conditional on Hammond not incurring a Penalty Category A or B medication violation in any jurisdiction within a year of the Apr. 5 ruling.

Lidocaine, a local anesthetic, is classified as a Class 2, Penalty Category B substance on the Controlled Therapeutic Medication Schedule compiled by the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI). For a first offense, the ARCI's recommended Category B penalties are a “minimum one-year suspension absent mitigating circumstances [and a] minimum fine of $10,000 or 10% of total purse (greater of the two) absent mitigating circumstances.”

According to the ruling, both Hammond and Kevin Brown (who owns Floroplus under the stable name Small Town Paddock), waived rights to formal stewards' hearings.

Small Town Paddock won six of nine races, second in the standings at Turfway's 2021 winter/spring meet, and Hammond won four of 10 starts during that time. Her suspension runs Apr. 6-20.

Floroplus, a 7-year-old, has won nine of 22 lifetime starts.

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