Having a very successful mother can be hard to live up to, but Strong Tide has risen to the challenge. The son of Dreamin Big, winner of more than $600,000 and listed second on the list of all-time leading Indiana bred females in earnings, is now a three-time stakes winner this season for Mike and Penny Lauer.
Bred to run on the turf, Strong Tide stepped up to tackle opponents on the dirt in the 23rd running of the $100,000 To Much Coffee Stakes. Named in honor of one of Indiana's first standouts, To Much Coffee, multiple stakes winning and track record setting gelding, the race showcased the state's best older males in the event.
Strong Tide began his journey from the center of the starting gate and was in the midst of an all-out charge to the first turn of the one and one-sixteenth mile event. Horses were stacked seven-deep into the first turn and jockey Marcelino Pedroza found a resting spot along the inside early on as Mystery Unbridled and Kendal Sterritt emerged as the first leader of the 12-horse field.
Down the backstretch, the field remained tightly packed with Uphold and Jesus Castanon moving to the lead by the halfway marker. Pedroza had Strong Tide right at his heels tracking every move he made heading into the turn. Mystery Unbridled was not going away easily on the inside in the turn, and it gave Strong Tide the opportunity to move out three-wide and get ready for the attack in the stretch.
Strong Tide and Uphold began to match each other stride for stride in the early stages of the stretch drive, but as the wire neared, Strong Tide was able to get into another gear and get by Uphold. The three-year-old son of English Channel was a two-length winner at the wire over Uphold for second. Max Express and Alex Achard closed quickly on the outside for third.
“We were able to get right behind the two (Uphold) early on, and I thought that was a great place to be,” said Pedroza, who scored four wins on the Wednesday racing card. “I thought the two (Uphold) had a shot after looking at the way he ran in his last race, so we stayed right there until we got a shot to get through. Once we got through and he got by the two (Uphold), he really responded and was strong all the way to the wire.”
It was the fifth win in 17 starts for Strong Tide, who is a homebred by the Lauers, who also campaigned Dreamin Big. Mike handles the training duties while is wife, Penny, is the owner. The sophomore colt now has in excess of $247,000 in purse earnings.
The abbreviated 2020 racing season comes to a close Thursday, Nov. 19 with a mandatory payout in the Straight Fire 6. The carryover heading into closing day is in excess of $140,000 and will begin in Race 5 to capture the final six Thoroughbred races of the season. Racing dates for 2021 will be approved and announced by the Indiana Horse Racing Commission in December.
The post Strong Tide Living Up To His Dam’s Legacy With Third Stakes Win Of 2020 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
“American Pharoah winning the Classic was awesome. He was doing something that will probably never done again in many years, if ever.”
“Selfishly, we had a runner that year in the Distaff, Curalina. She put up a really game effort to be third behind Stopchargingmaria and Stellar Wind. That was my most vivid memory.”
“I had 2 1/2 to get from Lexington, Ky., to Shelbyville, Ind., to make it from the end of American Pharoah's Classic win to Bucchero's first stakes win as a 3-year-old in the To Much Coffee at Indiana Grand. I'm a big planner, and I was sitting next to my partner saying, 'I don't think we can wait until American Pharoah crosses the finish line.' We had to make a beeline to the car because other people would be trying to leave. I had so much excitement for American Pharoah's race, and I thank him for winning it so convincingly, because we legitimately headed into the tunnel when he passed us, and we were able to get to the car. We arrived in Shelbyville as Bucchero was walking into the paddock. It was the first stakes win for Ironhorse.”
“American Pharoah putting on a show in the final race of his career, and destroying the field. He was just a magical horse. I was a big fan of his, and to watch him go out to Keeneland and dominate the way he did, and the reception he got, it was just a special, special day.”
“Donegal Racing had over 125 people at the races that day, and I think that was my biggest memory. It was the year Keen Ice won the Travers, beating American Pharoah, and we, of course, were hoping that he'd repeat that feat in the Classic. That wasn't meant to be, but it was still a very exciting summer and fall of racing.”