Strong finish for Strong Tide in Snack Stakes

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Aug. 5, 2020) – Winning the 12th running of the $75,000 Snack Stakes Wed. Aug. 5 holds special meaning for Trainer Mike Lauer. The race is named in honor of his former trainee Snack, a multiple stakes winner in the state of Indiana. Strong Tide and Rodney Prescott gave Lauer his second win in the stakes as they pulled away for the impressive effort in the one-mile turf event.

Selected as the race favorite, Strong Tide did not show a lot of early speed as stablemate Chipofftheoldblock and Alex Achard used their inside post to their advantage and got on the front easily. Here Comes Trey and Rocco Bowen stalked the leaders from the outside while Leading the Charge and Emmanuel Esquivel tracked their progress in third along the rail.

In the final turn, the field of nine began to bunch up and Strong Tide was forced to go very wide to get around his opponents. Once he had clearance and had straightened up, the English Channel three-year-old hit another gear and pulled away for the comfortable two and three-quarter length win. Cash Logistics and DeShawn Parker closed quickly for second followed by Leading the Charge who fought off the rest of the field for third. The time of the turf event was 1:43.93.

“I had plenty of horse, and when I asked, he (Strong Tide) went on about his business,” said Prescott. “It didn’t bother me we had to go so wide in the turn. We had everyone in front of us measured. We just had to worry about the ones behind us that might be closing.”

It was the third career win for Strong Tide and the second of 2020. Bred and raised by Lauer and his wife, Penny, who owns, the colt is out of their great race mare Dreamin Big, who earned more than $600,000 during her career and is second on the list of all-time leading female earners for the state of Indiana.

“In a way, he looks like his mother (Dreamin Big) but he is much bigger and leggier and taller,” noted Lauer. “He’s bred to run on the turf, and we have been headed for the turf all along, but we had to wait to get there. There just weren’t the races for him up until recently. He’s matured a lot from last year.”

The start in the Snack Stakes was the fourth straight time on the turf for Strong Tide. He won his previous outing over the grass at Indiana Grand and is now on a two-race win streak. Prescott, who rode the colt last year, was back aboard for the first time this season.

“He’s a nice big strong horse that is level-headed and good minded,” added Prescott about Strong Tide. “He is very nice to ride. I can tell he’s really matured from last year.”

Prescott also rode Dreamin Big a few times during her career. She won 10 races between Indiana Grand and Hoosier Park, including two stakes over the turf at Indiana Grand. She still holds the track record for one mile and one-sixteenth, a record she set in 2013. Strong Tide is her third foal for the Lauers.

The Lauers also connected with Sneakin Away during the 2012 installment of the Snack Stakes. It was the first year the race was extended to a route over the grass. Orlando Mojica rode the colt to victory in that event.

Photo by Coady Photography