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Writer's pictureTammy Knox

Double Tuff sets new stakes record in William Henry Harrison Stakes

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Aug. 21, 2019) – Double Tuff proved to be too much for the field to handle in the 16th running of the $100,000 William Henry Harrison Stakes Wed. Aug. 21 at Indiana Grand. The flashy grey gelding turned in a dominant performance to score his first career stakes victory and set a new stakes record in a time of 1:09.12.


Ridden by Indiana Grand’s leading jockey Marcelino Pedroza, Double Tuff got away well along the inside but followed along in fourth as Evader and Miguel Mena set the tempo on the front as Rooster and Jose Leon pressed the pace along the outside. In the only turn of the six-furlong event, Pedroza moved Double Tuff four-wide to get around his opponents and by the time they had reached the stretch, he was on the lead. Double Tuff opened up on the field, eventually striding out to a four and three-quarter length win over Here Comes Doc and Ezequiel Lara, who saved ground inside to move into second. Operation Stevie and Emmanuel Esquivel closed well on the outside to finish third.


“He (Double Tuff) is a pretty straight forward horse,” said trainer Randy Matthews, who is now two for two with the Skylord gelding since claiming him in early June. “He has a few aches of an old athlete, but we pamper him, and he gets lots of carrots. He’s a fun horse to be around and he loves to train. He’s just a gentleman that enjoys his job.”


Double Tuff earned his fifth career win in his 21st career start. He increased his career bankroll to more than $260,000 with the stakes win. The final time of 1:09.12 eclipsed the previous stakes mark set by Son of a Nut and Dylan Davis in 2015 in a time of 1:09.49 for trainer Jeff Greenhill.

“I’ve been following this horse (Double Tuff) for a long time,” said Matthews. “Gary Sims is a friend of mine and does a wonderful job with his horses. I always wondered what this horse would be like if he stabled here. He was kind of inconsistent at times and since he’s an older horse, we thought he would be a good fit.”


Matthews claimed Double Tuff at Churchill Downs from Sims for $16,000 in early June, partnering with another owner from his operation, Ten Strike Racing. However, Matthews saw he “was a little more excited about the horse than they were,” so he was able to buy them out and get some other partners.


Amy and Tommy “Tap” Pruitt and Harlan Betleska bought in on Double Tuff. “Tap” played football with Matthews from a young age all the way through high school. “Tap” went on to play at Western Kentucky University while Matthews began his career training horses. Betleska, who owns and operates the restaurant Side Street Grill in Memphis, Tenn., is a newer owner with Matthews and was in the winner’s circle for the win of his latest acquisition.


“Three years ago, I got some Indiana breds with Randy (Matthews) and he called me about this one,” said Betleska. “I love what you all do for the Indiana bred program. This is very exciting.”


Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing continues through Wednesday, Nov. 6. Racing is conducted Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 2:15 p.m. and Saturday at 6:15 p.m.



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