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Shy Money Cashes In Wednesday’s Shelby County Stakes

Shy Money got nearly all the cash in the 19th running of the $75,000 Shelby County Stakes on Wednesday at Indiana Grand. The win marked the first stakes victory for owner Paul King, who is also the breeder on the grey Unbridled Express 4-year-old filly.

With earlier rain saturating the track and more rain lurking in the vicinity, Shy Money joined eight other females on the track for the Shelby County Stakes, which began the inaugural season of Thoroughbred racing at Indiana Grand. Ridden by Emmanuel Esquivel, Shy Money began her journey from post four and was in the lead down the backstretch, followed closely by race favorite Hungarian Princess and Sammy Bermudez.

In the stretch, Hungarian Princess began to make a move for the front spot and a battle ensued. Shy Money stood her ground and was able to fend off Hungarian Princess, just a 3-year-old, at the finish line for the win by a nose in 1:10.35 over the sloppy surface. Sentimentaljourney and Jermaine Bridgmohan finished third.

The second choice in the race, Shy Money paid $7.40 for the win. It was her third straight win and her fourth in five career starts. Aaron West trains the Indiana sired filly for King, who was trackside to accept his first stakes trophy. King is relatively new to the business, purchasing his first horse in 2017. King and West began with Shy Money late last fall as a three-year-old with two starts in Indiana. They gave her the winter off and brought her back to the racetrack in mid-April.

“She (Shy Money) has a big heart,” said West, who has trained several Indiana champions in recent years, including Marina's Legacy. “We are going to give her a break, now. She is undefeated sprinting, so we will keep her at that distance.”

Shy Money increased her career bankroll to more than $110,000 with the win. It was her first attempt in stakes action, and she is now three for three at the five-furlong distance.

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Unbridled Express Leads Indiana Stallions In 2019

Unbridled Express has honed the power of three in his breeding career, siring three stakes winners in the state of Indiana and hitting the top of the Indiana sire list after three years of being in the top 10 last year.

The 16-year-old gray son of Unbridled's Song earned $117,696.80 in Indiana stallion awards in 2019 alone. The remaining top stallions of 2019 include: Sangaree, Skylord, Lantana Mob and Noble's Promise.

Owned by Bernard Flint's LTB Inc. and Ron Hillerich's Hillerich Racing, whom, in turn, were named 2019 Indiana Stallion Owner of the Year, Unbridled Express stands at Swifty Farms in Seymour, Ind.

The award comes 20 years after the partnership was established. Flint and Hillerich met in 1992 thanks to a claimer, but the breeding aspect of their partnership didn't come to fruition until Hillerich and his law partner purchased a mare named My Sea Castles (Polish Navy, sire of Sea Hero). Prior to selling the mare, they bred her to the stallion Sky Classic. That result was a filly named Skye Castles. Hillerich, his law partner and Flint then later bred Skye Castles to Unbridled's Song for a 2004 colt. That colt was named Unbridled Express and ignited an exhilarating ride for Hillerich, Flint and all of their connections.

After a dominating performance in a maiden special weight at Churchill Downs at two, Hillerich knew they had something special in Unbridled Express.

“He had beaten eventual Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense by four lengths,” recalled Hillerich.

His next race was the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga, where Unbridled Express finished third behind Scat Daddy and Circular Quay, sustaining an injury in that race that continued to plague him and end the colt's career at three.

“He never could make it back to form,” said Hillerich. “However, he's been a blessing in disguise. Bernie and I both knew what we had in that horse. It's a shame that he got hurt early, but we just didn't want to let that talent go to waste.”

So sets the stage for Unbridled Express's onset into a stallion career. While Flint and Hillerich had been actively breeding in Kentucky, they had heard more about the Indiana Thoroughbred Breed Development Program and it enticed them to look for a home for their young stallion.

“We had read about the development program and all of the incentives for Indiana, and we thought with his bloodline and his talent, it was a shame if we didn't try to see what we could do with him as a stallion,” said Hillerich. “So, we decided to try him in Indiana. Thank goodness we did.”

In the past three years, Unbridled Express has been in the top five for sires standing in Indiana. The past year was his banner year, with three foals winning stakes races in Indiana Grand. He sired 14 winners from 29 starters in 2019 (including six repeat winners), with progeny earnings of $1,089,725. His top progeny include 2019 Indiana Horse of the Year Unbridled Class ($255,695), Mystery Unbridled ($149,582) and Super Jen ($97,108).

The Stallion Owners of the Year are looking forward to more success in the breeding shed and on the track with Unbridled Express's progeny.

“We set out to create a brand in Indiana 10 years ago, and I think we succeeded at that,” said Hillerich. “I think Unbridled Express has proven, without any doubt, that he is a tremendous stallion, and if you look at the statistics, they do the talking.”

Hillerich sings the praises of his partner and friend: “He's not just a trainer to me, he's a best friend. He's just a wonderful man and a great horseman. I can tell you that he knows more about horses than I'll ever know, and he's forgotten more about horses than I'll ever know. But the great thing is, we're 50/50 on everything and I let Bernie make the call on the horses as to when and where they're going to run. I may put my two cents in, but it's all deferred to Bernie.

“Sometimes I feel he doesn't get the credit he deserves. He's truly a great horseman and always, always does the best thing for the horse. And that's what I like.”

The deadline for registering stallions for participation in the Indiana Thoroughbred Breed Development Program is Oct. 15.

The Stallion of the Year and Stallion Owner of the Year awards are determined solely on earnings in Indiana in 2019. The owner or lessee of a registered Indiana stallion whose registered progeny have won any race at Indiana Grand Racing and Casino earns 10 percent of the gross purse for all stake, allowance and claiming races (except when entered for a claiming price of less than $10,000). All stallion awards are paid directly to the wining owner from the program.

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Unbridled Class Named Indiana Thoroughbred Breed Development Program’s 2019 Horse Of The Year

Indiana-sired and -bred filly Unbridled Class was named the Indiana Thoroughbred Breed Development Program's Horse of the Year for 2019, capping a stellar year that saw the then 4-year-old filly earning $255,695 in 2019 alone.

The award is the pinnacle of the Indiana program for breeders and owners Bernard Flint and Ron Hillerich. Unbridled Class's 2019 earnings also earned her sire, Unbridled Express, the 2019 Stallion of the Year; and Flint the 2019 Stallion Owner of the Year awards.

“We are thrilled. We're humbled,” says Hillerich, a lawyer based in Kentucky. “We're just so happy to be part of the Indiana racing scene. It's quality people, which we enjoy, it's a quality track, and it's a quality experience.”

The gray filly is the product of generations of breeding. Flint and Hillerich bred the dam of Unbridled Express. So it shouldn't be a surprise that because of the banner year for the filly that her dam, Miss Carmelite, would be named the 2019 Broodmare of the Year.

Bred in partnership by Flint's LTB Inc. and Hillerich's Hillerich Racing, LLC, Unbridled Class ranked 63rd by wins in the Top 100 Thoroughbreds racing in North America. Wins included allowance races, stakes placings and black type stakes wins at not only her home base Indiana Grand Racing and Casino, but also at Fair Grounds Race Course, located in New Orleans, La.

Unbridled Class kick-started the year on New Year's Day, winning a $40,000 allowance at Fair Grounds on a sloppy, sealed track. “That race raised my eyebrows,” says Hillerich.

It also was the start of a four-race win streak and she finished no worse than second from February through the end of the year, acquiring a race record of 10 starts, six wins, three seconds and one third in 2019.

The filly's first stakes win came after a stumble at the start in the 2019 Merrillville Stakes at Indiana Grand in September under the expert tutelage of veteran jockey Rodney Prescott, finishing the six furlongs at 1:11.10.

“She (Unbridled Class) is just a really nice, classy mare,” Prescott told media after winning an allowance race earlier this year. “She's done it all, from turf to dirt to different distances. She's won races outside of Indiana, even a stakes race.”

“If you look at her record, she can run on the grass, run on the dirt or slop, she can run short and she can run long,” points out Hillerich.

Off the track, Unbridled Class is all class. Her favorite treats include apples, peppermints and watermelon. According to Hillerich, she has a dream temperament in her stall and on the lead. But, when she steps into the paddock and onto the track, she's all business while staying cool and calm.

“We've been blessed,” he says. “She's beautiful, talented and her disposition is one of those for a lifetime.”

There are no concrete plans for the filly in 2020 and beyond because Flint and Hillerich like to let her do the talking. “The horse tells you what we're going to do,” says Hillerich. “We're just taking it day by day and making sure she stays healthy and sound. I'm looking at the long range for her—when her racing career is over, and I don't know when that'll be, can you imagine what a classic broodmare she will make?”

To date, Unbridled Class has earned almost $400,000, moving her to the top five for Indiana-sired money earners. “She's been so good to us,” says Hillerich in terms of her lifetime earnings. “She's won almost $400,000, and that is before getting the additional 30 percent that Bernie and I get from the Indiana breed development program—10 percent for owning the stallion and 20 percent for breeding the filly.”

The Indiana bred Horse of the Year is determined by the total earnings while racing at Indiana Grand Racing and Casino in Shelbyville. Horses are eligible for the Indiana-bred program if breeders follow registration and residency guidelines for broodmares and their foals. More information can be found on the Indiana Horse Racing Commission website: https://www.in.gov/hrc/tb/

The 2019 Indiana Thoroughbred Breed Development and Indiana Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association award winners will be recognized during the first ever Indiana Breeders Day held at Indiana Grand on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The day is meant to celebrate Indiana's Thoroughbred breeders and stallion owners, and will feature a race card hosting four Indiana sired stakes, including the first running of the Unreachable Star and Lady Fog Horn Stakes, contested at 1 1/16 miles for horses three years and older. The two year olds will battle it out in the Crown Ambassador and Indian Stallion Fillies Stakes over six furlongs.

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Cash Logistics Rallies Late To Win Indiana’s Sagamore Sired Stakes

Cash Logistics likes to run off the pace, and it makes for an exciting finish, but it can be nerve wrecking for his connections. Ridden by Jockey James Graham, the Indiana sired son of Unbridled Express prevailed with a hard-fought finish to the wire in the seventh running of the $75,000 Sagamore Sired Stakes at Indiana Grand Wednesday, June 17. He delivered the first career stakes win for trainer Genevieve “GiGi” Londono.

Starting from post eight in the 10-horse lineup, Cash Logistics was unhurried out of the gate in the six-furlong contest. Maters N Taters and Eddie Perez established the pace up front with Nates Heartthrob and Santo Sanjur sitting right at their heels. Halfway through the turn, Cash Logistics had moved into fourth and was preparing for a stretch run to catch the leaders.

At the top of the stretch, it appeared Maters N Taters would keep everyone behind him, including race favorite Cash Logistics. Maters N Taters had a three-length jump on the field. Cash Logistics had his work cut out for him to catch the leader. Graham went to work on Cash Logistics and never backed down as the sophomore gelding continued to make up ground. Late in the race, Cash Logistics had momentum built up, moving in to capture the win and the title by three-quarters of a length. Nutty Train also closed well to finish second for Malcolm Franklin, just a neck ahead of Maters N Taters.

Owned by Charlie and James Hancock, Cash Logistics scored his second career win in three starts during his 2020 debut. He has been with Londono since the beginning of his career. She currently has four in training at the Churchill Downs Training Center and more babies at the farm who will join her barn soon.

“He (Cash Logistics) has matured quite a bit and he's starting to figure it out,” said Londono, who is in her fourth year of training. “He had some ground to make up, but he did that last time (in the Crown Ambassador Stakes last fall) and just ran out of time. Today, he stayed strong and made a big move at the end.”

Graham likes what he sees so far in Cash Logistics. He feels the three-year-old could have a big future ahead of him.

“He (Cash Logistics) has gotten big and long and tall, and he's still kind of green, which is a good thing,” said Graham. “He just keeps getting better and better. A couple more races, and I think he will be really good. He galloped out well today and I think 'GiGi' will think about stretching him out off that race. He's got a lot of potential.”

Cash Logistics completed the sprint in 1:13.44. A homebred by Charlie Hancock, he paid $4.40, $3.00 and $2.60 across the board.

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