Beach Blast blows by for win in Miss Roxie Little Futurity

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Oct. 24, 2020) – The quickest qualifier in the trials made is a clean sweep in the 12th running of the $192,400 Miss Roxie Little Futurity during the final All-Quarter Horse racing day at Indiana Grand Saturday, Oct. 24. Beach Blast with jockey Shanley Jackson aboard, pressed through to the wire for the win in :17.451 seconds, a near stakes record in the event.

Starting from post six, Beach Blast was one of the first ones to emerge out of the gate with a quick start and was the leader from the center of the pack early on. Surrounded by horses early on, as the 350-yard dash unfolded, the freshman son of Escondido Beach began to draw away. The final half of the race was down to him and Beach Diva, who was digging in gamely along the inside for jockey L.D. Martinez, but the final strides determined the race as Beach Blast exploded to the finish line first, one-half length ahead of Beach Diva. Inseperable Blood and Sammy Mendez finished third.

Owned by Keith Bode and Brock Hutchinson, Beach Blast earned his third win of the season in six starts. The sorrel gelding nearly tripled his career earnings to more than $145,000 with his first stakes win, which also marked a first for the Hutchinson family.

“This horse is so special to us,” said Emily Hutchinson, Brock’s wife. “We went in on this horse with Rose and Keith Bode and Rose and I are the supportive wives. It was a great win today and we are super excited. We have high hopes for him, and this is our first stakes win.”

Although Bodes have had several winners over the past few years, a trip to the winner’s circle is still unique for Hutchinson.

“I owned part of one other horse before this one, but he was only able to break his maiden for us,” said Brock. “We went to the sale with Bodes and were there when we bought him.”

The Bode family and Hutchinson family purchased Beach Blast out of the QHRAI Speed Sale last fall for $22,000. He has paid dividends back and beyond for the new horse owners.

The Hutchinsons gave all the credit to Jackson and their trainer, Randy Smith, who also picked up a special accolade with the win. It was Smith’s third win on the day and his 47th of the season, setting a new record for most wins and most purse earnings by a Quarter Horse trainer in one season at Indiana Grand. The previous record was set by Smith in 2015 at 46 wins and the purse record was also set in 2015 at $$1,104,209. Smith is the only Quarter Horse trainer to ever eclipse the million-dollar mark in one season.

“I wasn’t even aware about the record today,” said the always humble Smith. “But I’m always proud to get a record of any kind.”

It was the third win in the 12-year history of the Miss Roxie Little Futurity for Jackson, who connected aboard Shez So Rare in 2011 and again aboard LF Curly in 2017. Jackson, a native of Tallahassee, Fla., is one of the track’s all-time leading jockeys but is currently only coming in for stakes races. Jackson is a bus driver for the Leon School District in Tallahassee, a position he returned to when school resumed in August.

Photos by Coady Photography