Racing


She Is Mighty Classy Quickest Qualifier In Futurity Trials At Indiana Grand
Shes Mighty Classy, under jockey Julie Veltman, records the top qualifying time for the QHRAI Stallion Service Auction Futurity at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino.

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She Is Mighty Classy Quickest Qualifier In Futurity Trials At Indiana Grand

SHELBYVILLE, IN—AUGUST 29, 2015—It was a big night for Jockey Julie Veltman and Trainer Dicky Wayne Benton. The duo brought in two wins of the four trials for the upcoming QHRAI Stallion Service Auction Futurity at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino.

The first trial proved to be the fastest of the night as Veltman rallied home a winner aboard She Is Mighty Classy. The two-year-old daughter of Mighty Corona broke her maiden in a time of :17.981 to earn the status of fastest qualifier for the Futurity Final, which is set for Saturday, Sept. 12. She is Mighty Classy led most of the way in the 350 yard dash before fending off My Louisiana Rod at the finish line to win by a nose. Dixie Cup Lou and Richard Gillard finished third but were disqualified due to interference just after the start, moving EB Encountered up to third place.

“This is a nice filly (She is Mighty Classy) with a lot of class and the owners are such good people,” said Veltman. “She was getting so overexcited and she didn’t know where to put her feet. The best thing to do with her is to just sit there and ride and stay quiet and only kiss to her a little.”

She is Mighty Classy is owned by Carla and Daniel Skeens. She was an upset winner, paying $15.20, $3.80, $3.40 across the board. After finishing second in the $35,000 Speed Sale Stakes earlier this year to My Louisiana Rod, she is primed for a shot at the $100,000 SSA Final.

In the second trial of the night, Veltman and Benton were back in the winner’s circle with Sixes A Flyn. The win in the Futurity Trial marked the second straight win for the sorrel gelding by Desirio. Owned by Dan Wasserbeck, Sixes A Flyn won his trial in a time of :18.004 seconds to rank third on the list of qualifiers for the final. He was a neck winner over Megatron Harry and Berkley Packer followed by Fast N Famous Eagle and Rolando Pina for third.

“This horse (Sixes A Flyn) is liking it now and putting it all together,” said Veltman. “He is just now learning. He is such a calm horse and a nice horse to be around all the time, but he’s liking the stretch. Even in the mornings, he wants to go when he gets in the stretch. He knows what the stretch is now.”

Sixes A Flyn improved his career to two wins in five starts. He paid $16.80, $9.00, $5.20 as a slight upset in the Futurity Trial.

In the third trial, Mr Fool Me Twice and Cesar Esqueda got the job done from the outside post nine. The duo led most of the way in the nine horse field, passing the finish line in a time of :18.037 seconds to be ranked as the fourth fastest qualifier of the night. The two-year-old son of Escondido Beach was a comfortable winner by one and one-half lengths over Pistol Packin Kid and Berkley Packer for second. Stole N Cash and Giovani Vazquez-Gomez finished third but was disqualified, moving One Dashin Beau and Marlon St. Julien up to third.

“He (Mr Fool Me Twice) ran great tonight,” said Esqueda. “He broke well and about half way in, he got into another gear.”

The win was the first lifetime trip to the winner’s circle for Mr Fool Me Twice, who is owned, bred and trained by Roy Moore. He has only missed the board once in five career starts. Selected as the race favorite, he paid $3.40, $2.40, $2.40 across the board.

The fourth and final trial was awarded to Shark Eyes and Smitty Lee Oxendine. Also starting from the outside post nine, the Chilled Corona gelding led most of the way for the win by one-half length over Hoosier Leader and Hector Vasquez at the finish. Jumpn Chick and Berkley Packer finished third.

“He (Shark Eyes) is getting better and better every time out,” said Oxendine. “He’s been there every time. We’ve been working with him all week and just took our time. We took the blinkers off and that seemed to work. He worked well without them in the morning. When he sees the other horses he wants to go with them.”

Shark Eyes, owned by Bradley Lewis and trained by Roger Lewis, earned his first career win in six starts, not finishing worse than third so far in his career. His time of :18.320 also qualifies him for the Futurity Final.

For the top 10 qualifiers for the 38th running of the QHRAI Stallion Service Auction Futurity, with times, sires, dams, owners, breeders, trainers and jockeys CLICK HERE.

The QHRAI Stallion Service Auction Futurity will be joined by the QHRAI Stallion Service Auction Derby as two of the featured races on the Saturday, Sept. 12 racing program. The evening will also be dedicated to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund as well as Childhood Cancer Awareness. Jockeys will participate in several activities throughout the night, including a tug of war competition.

Live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing will continue through Saturday, Oct. 31. Racing is held Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 2:05 p.m. with Saturday evening post time set at 6:05 p.m. Two more all-Quarter Horse racing days will be held in 2015 set for Saturday, Oct. 10 and Saturday, Oct. 24.

About Indiana Grand Racing & Casino: Indiana Grand Racing & Casino, a Centaur Gaming destination, holds multiple awards from industry publications for customer service, entertainment, gaming and dining. Located in Shelbyville, Ind., Indiana Grand features 2,200 of the latest slots and electronic table games in addition to a one-mile oval racecourse offering live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing each year. Simulcast wagering is also offered year-round at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino as well as an off-track betting facility located in Clarksville, Ind. For more information, please visit www.IndianaGrand.com or www.CentaurGaming.net.