Beach Blast quickest in Miss Roxie Little Futurity Trials

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Oct. 3, 2020) – Beach Blast continued the winning ways of his stablemates during the All-Quarter Horse racing program at Indiana Grand Saturday, Oct. 3. The two-year-old was the quickest of 40 attempting to qualify for the $150,000 Miss Roxie Little Futurity Final set for Saturday, Oct. 24. In the process, he also recorded the fifth of seven wins on the card for Trainer Randy Smith, Indiana Grand’s all-time Leading Quarter Horse Trainer.

Starting from the outside post 10 in the final of four trials, Beach Blast got bumped a little from horses to his inside but kept right on going for Jockey Shanley Jackson. Midway through the 350-yard dash, the son of Escondido Beach began to lengthen his stride and became more prominent as the finish line neared, scoring the win by one and one-quarter lengths in a time of :17.950. Up Town J Ray and Juan Marquez finished second while Inseperable Blood and Sammy Mendez finished third.

Beach Blast, owned by Keith Bode and Brock Hutchinson, earned his second win in his fifth start of the season. Bred by Sheri Miller, owner of Escondido Beach, Beach Blast was a $22,000 purchase from the QHRAI Speed Sale last fall. The two-year-old has already earned in excess of $40,000 during his career. He comes from strong bloodlines, too. Beach Blast is a full brother to Beach Mercedes, multiple stakes winning mare who scored the victory in the Hoosier Park Classic later on in the card. Bode has also acquired the yearling brother to Beach Blast and Beach Mercedes in anticipation of racing next year.

The second fastest qualifier on the day brought back a favorite jockey at the track as Rodney Prescott made his first start aboard a Quarter Horse in two years. Prescott, who is currently third in the Thoroughbred jockey standings, was able to get Fire the Cartel out of the gate swiftly and on the lead in a blink of an eye from the inside, holding that position all the way to the wire in :17.981. Jess Bringin It On and Juan Marquez finished a length back in second over On The Beach at Six and L.D. Martinez for third.

Also trained by Smith, Fire the Cartel is owned by breeder Rose Bode. The Five Bar Cartel filly earned her second career win in the Miss Roxie Little Futurity Trial as the second fastest qualifier.

WH Imastreakinbeach and Oscar Macias scored her third straight win in the third Miss Roxie Little Futurity Trial. The duo turned up the speed in the last few strides to capture the win by one-half length over Beach Diva and L.D. Martinez. Zoomin Policy and Juan Marquez finished third. Time for the trial was :18.134.

WH Imastreakinbeach is trained by Erin Thompson and owned by Thomas Wylie of Northern Ohio. The filly is now three for six and nearing $40,000 in career earnings heading to the $150,000 Miss Roxie Little Futurity Final.

“We finally got this filly feeling good,” said Thompson. “She got a little sick earlier in the year and is just now coming back. She is the quietest, classiest filly I’ve ever had.”

Thompson has been associated with WH Imastreakinbeach since she began her career as a racehorse. Thompson spent the winter at Wylie’s farm and broke her in preparation for her racing season at Indiana Grand.

“Tom (Wylie) is new to racehorses and this year, we spent the winter at his farm near Toledo, Ohio,” said Thompson. “He bought the dam of this filly (WH Streakin Pie) with this filly by her side. They stand two stallions at their farm and were looking for a couple of brood mares. Greg Morrison (White Horse Ranch) was selling out so this mare has turned out to be a good fit for them.”

WH Streakin Pie was a stakes winner at Indiana Grand, racing through her four-year-old season, scoring eight wins in 17 career starts and in excess of $168,000 in earnings. She retired from the track in 2015.

The other trial winner in the Miss Roxie Little Futurity was BV Fancy Free and Shanley Jackson. Hailing from the Smith barn, the Jess Lips filly returned to the track after more than two months off to score the win in :18.378. Mitey Persuasive and Juan Cruz finished second over Black Hawk One and Giovani Vazquez-Gomez for third.

BV Fancy Free is owned by Bella Vista Farms. She was making her fourth career start and now has two wins on her record.

The entire field for the Miss Roxie Little Futurity Final, with jockey and times, includes: Beach Blast (Shanley Jackson, :17.950); Fire the Cartel (Rodney Prescott, :17.981); Jess Bringin it On (Juan Marquez, :18.132); WH Imastreakinbeach (Oscar Macias, :18.134); Up Town J Ray (Juan Marquez, :18.162); Beach Diva (L.D. Martinez, :18.203); Inseperable Blood (Sammy Mendez, :18.232); Gottasmoochjess (Natasha Fritz, :18.260); Zoomin Policy (Juan Marquez, :18.276); and Rock Candy Almighty (Victor Olivo, :18.291). Both Smith (Beach Blast, Fire the Cartel, Inseperable Blood) and Trainer Paul Martin (Jess Bringin it On, Up Town J Ray, Zoomin Policy) will saddle three for the final.

The Miss Roxie Little Futurity is one of the richest Quarter Horse Stakes in the state of Indiana. With a base purse of $150,000, it will most likely climb over the $180,000 range for the final, which will be part of a special Quarter Horse Stakes Day set for Saturday, Oct. 24. Purses on the day will exceed $500,000. First post is 10 a.m.

Photos by Coady Photography