SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022) – Once she got rolling, Carters Law was on a mission. The grey filly rallied home to win the $121,800 Sterlie Bertram Memorial Stakes Saturday, Oct. 22 at Horseshoe Indianapolis. The stakes race was the first of nine on the program featuring the 2022 AQHA Bank of America Challenge Championships, the first time the series has been held in the state of Indiana.
Starting from post nine, quarters were tight coming out of the gate with Carters Law and Horseshoe Indianapolis’ leading Quarter Horse jockey Juan Marquez holding their own through the first part of the 400-yard dash. It wasn’t until midway through the race that the three-year-old filly began to surge. She hit another gear for Marquez and began to pass horses with every stride, getting the win by one-half length in :20.096. Stablemate Sweet Beach and James Flores finished second over High Rolling Seize and Shanley Jackson for third.
Carters Law paid $6.40 for the win. The daughter of Carters Cartel is trained by Randy Smith and owned by Gordon Timm. She is now undefeated in three starts this year and the win in the Bertram was her first stakes victory.
“I’m really proud of this filly,” said Timm, owner and breeder of Carters Law. “Randy and Debbie (Smith) have done such a wonderful job with her. I just wanted her to have the opportunity to win a stakes race.”
Carters Law more than doubled her career bankroll with the Bertram win. She has now accumulated in excess of $116,000.
“It feels like a million dollars (to raise her and watch her grow up to this point),” added Timm. “She’s a small filly but she’s really talented. I had a guy tell me a long time ago they don’t run up, they run forward.”
It was also a big showing for Smith, who had a one-two finish in the race as Carters Law was paired with Sweet Beach. Smith and Timm are having an excellent season, and the stakes victory by Carters Law adds to a pair of stakes victories Timm has had this year with his two-year-old standout Extermynator, who will run in the $134,003 John Deere Juvenile Challenge Championship, a Grade 2 event, later in the card.
“I’m so proud of Extermynator,” added Timm. “And I’m so proud they put this event on right here (at Horseshoe Indianapolis). I’ll probably never have another opportunity to race in this again. We bought this horse (Extermynator) just for this race, so I’m very excited to be in it tonight.”
Photos by Coady Photography
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