Mobley Trials Held at Hoosier Park
Three trials were contested to set up the $100,000 final of the Gordon Mobley Futurity Saturday, Sept. 3. The races were run at a distance of 350 yards with purses of $10,000 each. The Mobley Futurity Final is set for Saturday, Sept. 17 during an afternoon racing program that will include Guns and Hoses, in which area firefighters and police officers will compete in a series of challenges to raise money for charity.
In the first trial, Julie Veltman guided Corona Kas to his first career win, taking the event by the margin of one-half lengths in a time of :18.182 seconds. The Rainbow Beat and Gerardo Garrido moved up late for second followed by HQH Doc Dash and Harold Collins in a close photo for third.
“This was his (Corona Kas) first start here
and he ran good and broke good,” said Veltman, who was the
leading Quarter Horse jockey at Hoosier Park in 2005. “The
trainer (John McCreary) said to go to the front and improve your
position. I saw the six (The Rainbow Beat) moving up toward the
end but I wasn’t worried about him. The wire beat him.”
Owned by Chris and Raymond Duke and trained by McCreary, Corona Kas was making his third lifetime start and his first over Hoosier Park’s surface. His prior two efforts were third place finishes at Indiana Downs. The black gelding is an Indiana bred son of Chilled Corona. Dukes are also the breeder on Corona Kas. He was a surprise winner in the event, paying $21.80 to win.
The easiest winner of the day was recorded in the second trial, giving Highway To Payoff and Collins the nod at the end. Trained by Hoosier Park’s all-time leading Quarter Horse Trainer Ron Raper, Highway To Payoff got out of the gate quickly from the outside post and barreled down the track for the easy win in a time of :18.210, one and three-quarter lengths in front of HQH Forever Sassy and Veltman. Hooked on Cigars and Jose Beltran were close for third.
Owned by John Mendenhall, Highway to Payoff
earned his first win in his fifth career start for Raper. He
increased his career bankroll to more than $15,700 with the
effort.
“This colt (Highway to Payoff) has always had speed, but he’s always had something bothering him,” said Raper. “He’s either been sick or something, but he got it done today. Burnie (HQH Burn Notice) has probably been the best one in the barn I’ve had from the start. He’s never given me a bad race. His owner (David Whitman) had his full sister and went and bought this colt (HQH Burn Notice) off the farm.”
The fastest trial of the day was the final race in which Chilled Six Pack and Leading Rider Shanley Jackson got to the wire first over HQH Burn Notice and Collins. They stopped the timer in :18.060 a neck in front of their opponents followed by Raper’s other entrant, Payoff in Diamonds and Aron Hunt for third.
The Chilled Corona gelding was the second
winner on the day for trainer McCreary. It was his first career
start for owners Vickie and Raymond Duke, who also bred the
Indiana-born two-year-old.
Raper is back on top of the Quarter Horse standings again in 2011. The six-time champ from Kenly, North Carolina continues to send out winners, overseeing 40 horses at his nearby farm in North Anderson while maintaining eight on the backside of Hoosier Park. With 18 two-year-olds still in training, Raper has a lot to look forward to in the upcoming stakes at Hoosier Park.
“The all-Quarter Horse day (Saturday, Oct. 8) will be all trials,” said Raper. “I’ll probably have 10 in the Roxie Little and four more in the Governor’s Stake. I could have 16 horses racing that day.”
Raper will be one of the trainers hosting a couple of students from the AQHA Youth Racing Experience. The kids will accompany Raper through the entire process of racing a horse during the afternoon card, getting the full feeling of what it takes to be a Quarter Horse trainer. The event will be one of several special activities throughout the day, including Wild West Day. The afternoon will also have the annual Mule Race and offer a mechanical bull and strolling western entertainment along with a special appearance by Q-Racing Ace John Hernandez of the AQHA.
Photos by Linscott Photography