Pretty Assets shines in Shelby County Stakes

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Sept. 2, 2020) – It’s always rewarding to win a stakes race, but when an owner also raised the winner as a baby, it’s an extra bonus. Pretty Assets, owned, bred and trained by Gary Patrick, came from off the pace to score the win in the 18th running of the $75,000 Shelby County Stakes Wed. Sept. 2 at Indiana Grand. The stakes race is one of three from the 2003 inaugural season of racing at Indiana Grand.

Starting from post six, Pretty Assets was unhurried out of the gate by jockey DeShawn Parker, who is the current leading rider at Indiana Grand. The four-year-old daughter of Caiman was content to follow along near the back of the pack as An Indiana Night and Sammy Bermudez set swift early fractions.

In the turn, Pretty Assets began to put in a mild gain on the leaders but stayed in along the rail. Unbridled Class and Rodney Prescott took control of the front for the stretch drive.

As the field turned for home, Parker found a seam and split horses, moving swiftly by opponents. From that point forward, Pretty Assets lengthened her stride and was able to run down Unbridled Class for the win by one-half length at the finish line in 1:11.19. Expect Indy and Emmanuel Esquivel finished third.

Pretty Assets was a surprise to racing fans, paying $31.60, $6.00, $4.40 across the board. The win marked her first stakes victory and boosted her career earnings to more than $183,000.

“We still have her mother,” said Patrick’s daughter, Cheyanna, a former jockey. “She was a cheaper class mare for us, but she won some races. This filly has been hitting the board a lot. We just kept giving her a shot and it finally paid off. She comes from off the pace. That’s just her style.”

Pretty Assets is the daughter of Utesa. She raced nearly all of her career in Indiana, and Patrick saw something in the mare to retain her to his farm as a broodmare.

“I claimed this filly’s mother for $10,000 and she was tough,” noted Patrick. “I always liked her, so we kept her for a broodmare. Cindy (Gary’s wife) loves this filly and she gallops her. She won’t let anyone else get on her. She ponied her to the gate tonight. This filly won because Cindy gets on her.”

Cindy, a former jockey, still exercises a few of the family’s horses. In addition to her success on the track, she is also an outstanding barrel racer, competing on a national level the past few years. She travels all across the United States for weekend competitions and was a winner the previous weekend at the Michiana Event Center in Shipshewana, Ind. She has a show this coming weekend at Edinburgh, Ind. at Hoosier Horse Park. Cheyenne joins her mother in her passion for barrel racing.

“I have one horse I ride and actually ran third in poles last weekend,” added Cheyanna, who is a recent graduate of the University of Kentucky Law School and awaiting to take the bar, which was postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions. “I’m currently interviewing for positions and I’m not sure yet where I’m going, but wherever I go, I’ll take my horse with me.”

Photos by Coady Photography