Hoosier Philly came between horses into the stretch and went on to a 3 3/4-length win over Absinthe in an impressive effort Saturday in the $200,000 Dig A Diamond Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
“Going into the race Bill Stone, the owner, and myself, were talking about confidence,” Amoss said. “We’ve always known this filly is very talented. She’s shown it in the mornings. I think her last three breezes were all bullet works. But it’s about getting it right in the afternoon. Today was a terrific steppingstone for us and I hope we can continue moving forward.
Hoosier Philly was freshened and prepped for her 2024 campaign at the bucolic Hidden Brook Florida training center near Ocala, Florida.
The Dig A Diamond was for fillies and mares at a mile, and ended at the sixteenth pole. It shared a card with the $200,000 Bachelor won by Valentine Candy.
Hoosier Philly ($4.40) was moving back to two turns for her second start of the year and was content to stalk the pace set by Stellar Lily, who took the field through an opening quarter in 23.32 seconds, a half-mile in 47.53 and six furlongs in 1:13.03 while under pressure from Bluelightspecial.
Hoosier Philly stalked in fourth along the rail, had to wait for racing room late on the final turn, came between rivals into the stretch and went on to cover the distance on a track rated good in 1:39.33.
Hoosier Philly was in hand late under jockey Rafael Bejarano, who was aboard for Gold Standard Racing and trainer Tom Amoss.
“She ran a great race. She had to be patient, as did her rider, who did a good job of doing that and then got through, and they kicked clear nicely on the end. I was really proud of her.”
Amoss said in a few days Hoosier Philly will ship back to Kentucky.
Hoosier Philly earned $108,000 for the win to improve her career record to 5 for 12 for earnings of $845,660. She is a 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief.
-edited from www.drf.com
