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‘This Is For Everyone That Has Been Supportive’: Rocco Bowen Hits 1,000-Win Milestone

Rocco Bowen has learned that good things come to those who wait. The native of Barbados was sidelined from a riding incident in September 2018 and was patient to get back in the saddle. He accomplished that goal this past spring and made the choice to ride at Indiana Grand in Shelbyville, Ind., this season. The return has paid off in many ways for Bowen. He is now a member of an exclusive club of jockeys with 1,000 wins in their career.

Bowen had been inching toward the milestone, winning consistently until he got to his 999th victory on Nov. 4. At that point, he was close in several of his 23 races, but it was a pick-up mount in the evening's ninth race at Indiana Grand aboard the Tim Glyshaw-trained Dox Folly that gave him the milestone Wednesday, Nov. 11.

“I even changed my boots today,” said a smiling Bowen regarding the gap between wins. “This sign is going straight to my mom. Thank you to everyone. It's been such a pleasure to be here and everyone has been so welcoming. I want to thank all the agents throughout my career and all the people that have been in my corner. This is for everyone that has been supportive.”

One of the stables that has supported Bowen's return to riding at Indiana Grand is the Paul Holthus Stable. Bowen was interviewed by Paul's wife, Nancy, who serves as the paddock analyst at Indiana Grand. She noted how pleased she was to do the interview to celebrate Bowen's milestone.

“You, Nancy Holthus, have been so welcoming,” said Bowen. “You gave me the same confidence that my mom gives me and she's 1,000 miles away. You encouraged me a few weeks ago when I was down, and I so appreciate that.”

Bowen noted he has felt “at home” since arriving in Indiana.

“For some reason, this has felt like home right off the bat,” added Bowen. “Indiana Grand has been so welcoming and I'm glad to call this new place home. I hope to build my mom a house here and now we are back on track for that.”

Eric Halstrom, vice president and general manager of racing, made the winner's circle presentation to Bowen following his win aboard Dox Folly. Bowen is currently among the top 10 jockeys in his first year riding in Indiana, and earlier this season, scored his first stakes win in more than two years at the track. His milestone win was the 36th of the meet and he is less than $120,000 from reaching $1 million in purse earnings this season at Indiana Grand with five racing programs left for 2020.

In all, Bowen has accumulated more than $11 million in purses throughout his career since arriving in North America in 2007. Since that time, he has been among the top 100 jockeys nationally five times with 2017 his best finish in 34th place among all riders in North America.

Racing continues through Thursday, Nov. 19. For more information, go to www.indianagrand.com.

Indiana Grand's Eric Halstrom with Rocco Bowen

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Unreachable Star Connections Donate To Friends Of Ferdinand On Indiana Champions Day

Unreachable Star was one of the first modern day superstars in the Indiana breeding program. The one-time leader in the state for most purse earnings accumulated during his racing campaign, the now 16-year-old is remembered with a new stakes race in his honor, the $100,000 Unreachable Star Stakes as part of the newly formed Indiana Champions Day, placing the spotlight on the Indiana breeding and racing program.

In honor of the veteran racehorse, who was the first to eclipse $700,000 in purse earnings in the state of Indiana, Unreachable Star's connections made a $500 donation to Friends of Ferdinand during Indiana Champions Day Wednesday, Oct. 28. The donation will assist the local organization with racehorse aftercare programs.

“This is absolutely a full circle moment for us to have a race named in his honor,” said Loren Hebel-Osborne, one of the owners of Unreachable Star. “If he could be here, he would be eating a watermelon and hamming it up and loving it. I hope this donation brings awareness to all horses that are warriors like him, and we hope people will give them a chance after racing for a second career.”

Unreachable Star was retired in 2015 with a total of $784,595 in career earnings and earned four consecutive year-end honors in Indiana as one of the state's top performers. He was the on-site horse at the Churchill Downs Museum and is now enjoying a new career in the hunter-jumper show ring.

“When he started his career in 2007, the purses and the stakes weren't as high as what they are today, so he would have been pretty close to becoming the state' first horse to earn $1 million if he had raced now,” said Tim Glyshaw, trainer of Unreachable Star during his entire career. “He was a barn pet and we kept him at Churchill Downs the whole time. After every race, he'd get a watermelon. He loved watermelon. You could do anything with him. He was just a really cool horse.”

Bruce Murphy, president of the Indiana Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association (ITOBA) provided the winner's circle presentation for the donation.

“We are honored to have owners Dave and Loren Osborne and Chuck Bebber here today for the inaugural Unreachable Star Stakes,” said Murphy. “We are very proud to be able to offer a stakes race in his honor, and this is a very nice donation on behalf of his connections.”

Racing continues Monday through Thursday until Thursday, Nov. 19. All-Quarter Horse racing is set for Saturday, Oct. 3 and Saturday, Oct. 24. For more information, go to www.indianagrand.com.

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Sandy’s Newsgirl Breaks Her Maiden In Indiana’s Swifty Sired Fillies Stakes

It's been a year of trials and tribulations for Sandy's Newsgirl, and all the hard work paid off Wednesday, June 17. The 3-year-old Indiana sired daughter of Elite Squadron picked up her first career win in the seventh running of the $75,000 Swifty Sired Fillies Stakes at Indiana Grand.

Jockey Fernando De La Cruz wasted no time getting Sandy's Newsgirl in the mix of the six-furlong sprint. The sophomore filly rushed out to the lead, keeping open lengths between her and the remainder of the field the entire distance. At the top of the stretch, Sandy's Newsgirl increased her dominating hold on the lead, opening up by six and one-quarter lengths at the wire for the win. French Vanilla and Emmanuel Esquivel maintained ground for second followed by Angry Bee and Carlos Diaz, who moved up late to finish third. Time for the stakes race was 1:14.18.

“I can see a big improvement this year in her,” said De La Cruz, who rode her in all six of her starts last year at two, finishing second in four of those outings. “I wanted to make it to the lead. Those were my instructions. I just wanted to sit there and keep her going to the wire. I've been getting on her a lot in the mornings. You can really tell a difference in her physically.”

Sandy's Newsgirl paid $13.00, $6.40, $6.20 across the board. She increased her career bankroll to more than $75,000 for the ownership group of Ironhorse Racing Stable, managed by Harlan Malter. Tim Glyshaw trains Sandy's Newsgirl and likes what he sees in her this season.

“We are extremely happy about her race today,” said Glyshaw. “She has always shown speed. She's grown up a lot both size wise and maturity wise. We could see that. Her works are just as fast as they were last year, but we still weren't 100 percent sure about her. She's had trouble carrying her speed in the past, but we wanted to try her in this stake.”

Sandy's Newsgirl's road to the winner's circle has been a little bumpy this year. In February, she arrived at Glyshaw's barn in Tampa and ran right through the webbing and attempted to jump a four-foot concrete wall, with no success. As a result, she was left with a deep wound on her hock, an injury that could not be corrected with stitches.

“Tim (Glyshaw) and his crew handled the day to day care on this filly and put in so much work to get her right,” said Malter. “To see a horse come back and run like that is a huge testament to Tim. It just shows how dedicated he is to his horses. I don't think people realize how much time and effort he puts into this.”

Malter, who is based on the West Coast, is generally trackside for as many Indiana stakes as he can attend, but due to current travel restrictions, he had to watch Sandy's Newsgirl win via simulcast.

“I wasn't there because I didn't think she (Sandy's Newsgirl) could win, I just have not been able to get on a plane,” added Malter. “We are part of the breeders on this filly too, and through Superbad Stables, this is our first-ever time of breeding a stakes winner. It's been a very exciting day.”

Superbad Stables teamed up with Pine Lake Breeders of Carmel as breeders on Sandy's Newsgirl. Superbad Stables is now concentrating their efforts on former Ironhorse Stable standout Bucchero, who stands at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Morriston, Fla.

“Superbad is now in the business of breeding Bucchero babies,” added Malter. “We have a lot to look forward to.”

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